Judge José Luis Calama of Spain’s National Court, who presides over the Plus Ultra case, has consented to summon Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, daughters of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, to appear as investigated individuals, and this ruling also extends to Gertrudis Alcázar, Zapatero’s secretary, who will be required to testify under the same procedural designation.
The move follows a request by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office for the three women to be questioned as suspects. According to Vozpópuli, the judge is expected to set the dates for their appearances in a forthcoming ruling.
In the case of Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, the court’s decision is linked to their role as formal administrators of Whathefav SL, a communications and marketing agency that has come under scrutiny within the investigation. The judge considers that their position within the company makes it necessary for them to appear with the procedural guarantees granted to investigated persons.
The magistrate argues that the company is connected to transactions relevant to the proceedings and that its administrators should therefore testify under a legal status that protects their constitutional rights. In his view, summoning them merely as witnesses would be inappropriate, as that would oblige them to tell the truth and could compromise their right not to incriminate themselves.
The investigation is reviewing multiple financial transactions connected to Whathefav and several companies tied to the Plus Ultra case, noting in the records that Inteligencia Prospectiva is believed to have sent 368,258.72 euros to Análisis Relevante, a firm linked to Julio Martínez, a friend of Zapatero, along with another 561,440 euros to the company run by the former prime minister’s daughters.
Investigators also point to payments allegedly made by Análisis Relevante, a company said to have been financed by Plus Ultra. These include 490,780 euros to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and 239,755 euros to Whathefav. Particular attention has been placed on invoices issued under the general concept of agency services, without a detailed description of the specific work carried out.
According to the judicial line of inquiry referenced by the outlet, the payments might have been tied to layout and formatting tasks for reports that had already been completed, and the judge noted that the unclear description of the services rendered could indicate a gap between the stated activity and the transactions’ actual purpose, potentially hinting at a merely formal cover function.
Zapatero’s appearance before the National Court on Wednesday failed to ease the investigating judge’s concerns, as the former prime minister firmly rejected any role in the supposed commission scheme tied to the rescue of Plus Ultra, the airline granted 53 million euros in public funds during the pandemic, and he further maintained that Whathefav operates legitimately as an active company serving multiple clients.
Regarding Gertrudis Alcázar, the judge likewise considers that there is enough basis to call her in as a subject under investigation, as earlier decisions had already portrayed her as a significant operational presence within the supposed network, performing tasks from Zapatero’s office in Ferraz and routinely accessing the former prime minister’s email account.
The analysis of seized emails attributes to Alcázar, together with Cristóbal Cano, coordination and document-preparation tasks related to the so-called Finance Boutique. According to the investigating judge, that documentation may have served to give formal appearance to payments received and issued by the corporate structure under investigation.
Source: Courtesy of Vozpópuli — https://www.vozpopuli.com/tribunales/la-audiencia-nacional-acuerda-investigar-a-las-hijas-de-zapatero-y-a-su-secretaria.html