Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera | Spain’s former PM Zapatero faces corruption probe
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Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is under investigation for alleged influence‑peddling linked to the 2021 state rescue of the airline Plus Ultra, which received a €53 million bailout from SEPI during the pandemic. The High Court searched Zapatero’s Madrid office and three other premises and has summoned him to testify on 2 June, after arrests—including businessman Julio “Julito” Martínez, who is said to have facilitated the scheme—suggest Zapatero pressured the transport ministry to approve the aid and may have received €10 million in commissions through a company tied to Martínez. Critics have highlighted the airline’s questionable financial viability and its ownership links to Venezuelan businessmen close to Nicolás Maduro, raising transparency concerns, while opposition parties are using the case to attack the ruling Socialist Party and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who faces separate corruption probes. Zapatero, who served from 2004‑2011, has denied any wrongdoing.
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