A Spanish court has opened a fresh criminal investigation into former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for tax fraud and smuggling, deepening one of the corruption cases shadowing the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
National Court judge José Luis Calama ordered the new line of inquiry over 103 pieces of jewellery found in a safe at Zapatero’s Madrid office. Court-appointed experts have valued the haul at more than €1.3 million.
The judge said the origin of the items had not been accounted for. He found that the lack of paperwork could point to an unjustified capital gain that was never declared to the tax authority.
Investigators seized the jewellery on May 19, 2026 during a search of the office on Ferraz street, directly opposite the headquarters of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
Zapatero, a Socialist who governed from 2004 to 2011, had already been named a formal suspect over the pandemic-era bailout of small airline Plus Ultra. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The case centres on €53 million in state aid granted to Plus Ultra in 2021 under a fund set up to support strategic companies hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Calama suspects Zapatero led an influence-peddling network that steered the rescue through government channels.
The judge has also pointed to shell companies and behind-the-scenes lobbying, and is examining possible commissions and financial flows linked to the bailout.
Zapatero’s office had earlier put the value of the jewellery at between €30,000 and €50,000. His spokesman has since apologised for the discrepancy, while associates have described the pieces as gifts and acknowledged there are no invoices or customs documents showing how they entered Spain.
Without proof of how the jewellery was acquired, the tax authority could treat its value as undeclared income, the judge said. Any fraud would sit well above the €120,000 threshold that turns a tax debt into a criminal offence.
It is the first time in modern Spanish history that a former prime minister has been placed under formal criminal investigation. Sánchez, a political ally of Zapatero, has called for respect for the presumption of innocence and defended the Plus Ultra rescue as lawful.
The affair adds to a lengthening list of graft cases that have raised questions about the survival of Sánchez’s minority government.
Zapatero is due to testify before the court on June 17 and 18. He has consistently denied receiving any payments linked to Plus Ultra.
