Plus Ultra Case: The appraisal of the jewels seized in Zapatero's office raises their value to 1.3 million euros

Current procedural status of the Plus Ultra case at the National Court

As of June 11, 2026, the Plus Ultra case remains open and in the investigation phase at the National Court, under the direction of Judge José Luis Calama, of the Central Investigative Court No. 4. No indictment order has been issued yet nor has an oral trial been opened, and the case continues in preliminary proceedings. The procedure focuses on the rescue of 53 million euros granted to the airline through the Strategic Companies Solvency Support Fund (FASEE) and on the possible influence peddling and other related criminal conduct. There are also sealed pieces, which confirms that the investigation is in a full expansion phase.

Investigation status and involved bodies

According to the most recent information, the National Court assumed jurisdiction over the Plus Ultra rescue and opened proceedings under secrecy regarding the granting of the 53 million euros from FASEE, approved in the context of COVID state aid. This case is processed in the Central Investigative Court No. 4, with Judge José Luis Calama in charge, who directs all investigative proceedings.

The newspaper El Demócrata details that the investigation has intensified with the indictment of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged crimes of influence peddling, criminal organization, and money laundering, ordered in a ruling dated May 19, 2026. That same ruling reportedly ordered searches in his professional office and in companies linked to his daughters, and opened specific proceedings on the effective use of the 53 million euros from the rescue.

Meanwhile, other journalistic reports indicate that the National Court maintains a separate secret piece, in a very early phase, also related to possible influence peddling crimes in the context of the Plus Ultra case, which reinforces that the case is far from being closed and continues to expand to new facts and possible participants.

Main recent proceedings and resolutions

Within this investigation phase, the latest relevant actions can be grouped into three blocks:

First, the strictly judicial actions. Besides the indictment and searches of May 19, there has been a partial lifting of secrecy that has allowed the defenses to access a very voluminous file (around 4,000 pages in eight volumes, according to various reports). This led to the declaration initially scheduled for June 2 being considered premature given the extent of the case.

Second, the investigation is gathering international and digital evidence. According to the information summarized by El Demócrata, Judge Calama has requested authorization from the United States authorities to use as evidence the WhatsApp messages from Rodolfo Reyes's mobile phone, a key figure in the Plus Ultra network. These messages would be a central element to reconstruct possible contacts, pressures, or mediations around the rescue.

Third, the case also has a European political-institutional dimension. The Vice President of the European People's Party Group, Dolors Montserrat, has demanded that the European Commission investigate the rescue in light of Zapatero's indictment, as stated by the People's Party in its statement “Dolors Montserrat demands the European Commission investigate the Plus Ultra rescue after Zapatero's indictment”. This does not change the procedural phase but indicates that the matter is under intense political and community scrutiny.

Appearances and next procedural steps planned

Regarding the appearances, the summons of Rodríguez Zapatero as an investigated party is the most immediate relevant milestone. He was initially summoned for June 2, 2026, but, as El Demócrata reports, his defense requested a postponement on May 26 due to the extent of the file. As of June 11, 2026, the appearance remains pending a new date, with no definitive public scheduling known.

With the case still in the preliminary proceedings phase and without an order to transform to a summary procedure or opening of oral trial, the next foreseeable procedural steps at the National Court are:

– Holding the declaration as an investigated party of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero on the new date set by Judge Calama.
– Conducting new investigative proceedings (documentary, testimonial, expert, and, if applicable, international letters rogatory) depending on the analysis of the file and the statements of the investigated parties and witnesses.
– Possible extension of the status of investigated party to other natural or legal persons if indications arise in the main or separate pieces.
– Once the investigation is concluded, the magistrate must decide whether to dismiss the case totally or partially or issue an order to transform and open the accusation phase, which could lead, if the accusing parties file a complaint, to the opening of an oral trial before the Criminal Chamber of the National Court.

So far, the consulted sources insist that there is no record of the opening of an oral trial nor the existence of a trial date; therefore, the case remains clearly in an investigative and expanding phase, with room for new proceedings and derivatives.

Brief answer

The National Court has jurisdiction to investigate and judge economic crimes when these seriously affect the national economy, the state public patrimony, or are connected with other crimes already under its jurisdiction (terrorism, organized crime, corruption linked to the State, etc.). In cases like the airline Plus Ultra, what matters is not only the possible fraud or embezzlement but the questioning of the use of strategic state funds and possible irregularities that go beyond the local or regional scope. Normally, the National Court assumes these matters through its Central Investigative Courts and the Criminal Chamber, with support from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office or the National Court Prosecutor's Office. Its function is to guarantee a unified and specialized investigation when the economic and political impact is at the state level.

General framework of the National Court's competencies

The National Court is a judicial body based in Madrid with jurisdiction throughout the national territory. It does not act in any economic crime, but in those that, by their nature or effects, transcend the scope of an autonomous community or an ordinary court. In criminal matters, its competencies are marked by the Organic Law of the Judiciary, which attributes to it:

1. Crimes with special state or international significance
These include, among others, terrorism, organized crime, large-scale drug trafficking, counterfeiting currency, or crimes against the Crown and high State institutions. Economic crimes may fall here when they are part of organized schemes, with multiple investigated parties, complex structures, or international connections (money laundering, shell companies, use of tax havens).

2. Crimes against the Public Treasury and state public patrimony
The National Court can take cases for tax crimes, subsidy fraud, embezzlement, or disloyal administration when they directly affect the State Treasury or significant state funds. In contexts like Plus Ultra, what matters is the possible impact on large public funds of state scope (for example, strategic aid channeled through entities like SEPI or extraordinary economic support mechanisms).

3. Economic crimes affecting the national economy
These are cases where the magnitude, the nature of the sector (energy, transport, critical infrastructures, financial system), or the amount of damage place the matter at a national dimension. The National Court can intervene when an alleged fraud, massive scam, market manipulation, or disloyal administration could compromise the stability of a strategic sector or the economic system as a whole.

Specific functions in the investigation of economic crimes

In these types of cases, the role of the Central Investigative Courts is key. Their main functions are:

– Opening criminal proceedings when the Prosecutor's Office or the accusers file a complaint or indictment and a connection with the National Court's jurisdiction is appreciated.
– Carrying out complex investigative proceedings: massive requests for accounting documentation, economic and financial expert reports, international letters rogatory, searches and seizures, interception of communications or account freezes.
– Coordinating with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office or the National Court Prosecutor's Office and specialized units (UDEF, UCO, ONIF) to trace money and unravel sophisticated corporate schemes.
– Deciding on personal precautionary measures (bail, provisional imprisonment) and patrimonial ones (seizures, prohibition to dispose of assets), aiming to ensure civil liabilities and prevent the decapitalization of the investigated parties.

Trial and resolution: Criminal Chamber

Once the investigation is concluded and, if applicable, an order to open oral trial is issued, the case passes to the Sections of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court. In the trial phase:

– The oral trial is held with participation of the accusers (Prosecutor's Office, State Attorney if public funds are affected, popular and private accusers) and the defenses.
– Complex economic expert reports, reports from supervisory bodies (for example, Bank of Spain, CNMV, or Court of Auditors, if any) and appearances of public officials involved in the questioned decision-making are analyzed.
– A sentence is issued that may declare the existence or not of crimes such as embezzlement, subsidy fraud, malfeasance, disloyal administration, money laundering, or belonging to a criminal organization, imposing prison sentences, disqualifications, and civil liability.

Relation to high-profile cases like Plus Ultra

In matters like the Plus Ultra case, the core of the legal and political debate is whether crimes occurred in the granting and management of strategic public aid to an airline, with potential impact on state patrimony and sector regulation. The National Court is competent when:

– The aid comes from large state funds and its possible irregularity could cause significant harm to the State Treasury.
– Decisions are made by central bodies of the General State Administration or state public entities, introducing components of possible malfeasance or embezzlement at the state level.
– A national economic and political dimension is appreciated, with implications in the Government's economic policy and the management of rescue or sectoral support instruments.

In these cases, the National Court acts not only as a specialized criminal body but also as a forum that concentrates in a single procedure the criminal controversies over the State's strategic economic decisions, avoiding fragmentation among different territorial courts.

Brief answer

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a Spanish politician from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), to which he has belonged since his youth and in which he has developed his entire career. He was secretary general of the PSOE between 2000 and 2012 and President of the Government of Spain between 2004 and 2011, leading two consecutive terms. His career is marked by a broad agenda of social reforms and expansion of rights (same-sex marriage, Dependency Law, Historical Memory Law, Equality Law) and by managing the 2008 economic crisis. After leaving the presidency, he remains an influential figure in Spanish socialism and today is a very relevant former president in political and international debate, although also involved in controversies such as the investigation of the Plus Ultra case.

Affiliation with the PSOE

Zapatero joined the PSOE in 1979 and integrated into the socialist organization of León, where he began his organizational and parliamentary career. He has always been a member of this party and his figure is closely linked to Spanish democratic socialism. He was national secretary general of the PSOE between 2000 and 2012, leading the party's internal renewal after Felipe González's era and the opposition to the PP governments of José María Aznar. His leadership meant a generational change and a shift towards an agenda very focused on civil rights, equality, and social policies.

Institutional career and main positions

Beginnings and parliamentary career

A law graduate and professor of Constitutional Law in León, he entered the General Courts as a deputy in the Congress for León, a seat he held for several legislatures. From the late 1980s and during the 1990s, he consolidated his profile as a PSOE parliamentarian until in 2000, after the socialist defeat against the PP, he was elected secretary general of the PSOE at the 35th Federal Congress, narrowly defeating José Bono.

President of the Government (2004‑2011)

The peak of his career came with the general elections of March 14, 2004, held a few days after the March 11 attacks. In those elections, the PSOE obtained 164 deputies against 148 of the PP, which allowed King Juan Carlos I to propose him as a candidate and for him to be invested President of the Government on April 15 and 16, 2004. In his investiture speech, as recorded by Demócrata, he structured his program around five axes: renewal of public life, foreign policy, economic modernization, social policies and equality, and expansion of civil rights.

He renewed the victory in 2008, thus governing two full terms until late 2011. According to the profile by Demócrata, his first term coincided with the end of an economic growth cycle, while the second was strongly conditioned by the international financial crisis and the bursting of the real estate bubble.

Main government milestones

Civil and social rights agenda

Various official and biographical sources highlight that his legacy is associated with a profound expansion of rights and social policies:

During his presidency, the following were approved: same-sex marriage (2005), which placed Spain among the pioneering countries in LGTBI rights; the Dependency Law (2006), which created the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependency as a new pillar of the welfare state; the Organic Law for Effective Equality of Women and Men (2007); and the Historical Memory Law (2007), aimed at recognizing the victims of the Civil War and the dictatorship and removing Francoist symbols. Additionally, he promoted a progressive increase of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage and the approval of the Law against Gender Violence, presenting gender violence as “the greatest national shame of our time,” according to the analysis by Demócrata.

Foreign policy and security

In foreign policy, he committed from the start to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq, a decision he executed shortly after taking office, defending a “preventive diplomacy versus preventive war.” He supported multilateralism, the UN, the EU, and strengthening relations with Latin America and the Mediterranean, and promoted the initiative of the Alliance of Civilizations within the United Nations framework. Internally in security, his term is linked to the process that led to the definitive cessation of ETA's armed activity in 2011, something current socialist leaders claim as a central part of his legacy, as recorded by Demócrata.

Territorial model and statutory reforms

His government promoted and accompanied several Autonomy Statute reforms, with special relevance of the Catalonia Statute, which had a lasting impact on the territorial debate. In his parliamentary interventions, he defended the recognition of Spain's cultural and linguistic plurality and was favorable to promoting the use of co-official languages in certain European instances, as recalled in this Demócrata analysis.

Management of the economic crisis

From 2008, his second term was dominated by the great economic crisis. The consulted sources indicate that his government shifted from stimulus policies (with public investment programs) to a turn towards austerity and structural reforms (labor, pensions, financial system), under pressure from markets and European institutions. These decisions generated strong social opposition and political wear that influenced the 2011 electoral result and the subsequent reconfiguration of the party system.

Later stage and current relevance

After leaving La Moncloa in 2011, Zapatero has maintained prominence as a former president and reference figure of the PSOE. According to Demócrata, he acts as a kind of “ideological godfather” of the current leader, Pedro Sánchez, and carries out international mediation tasks, for example in Latin American crises, recognition also highlighted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, his name appears linked to the judicial investigation of the Plus Ultra case, which has provoked strong internal defense by PSOE leaders, who claim his legacy in peace (end of ETA), expansion of rights, and social policy, against the criticisms of his political adversaries.

In summary, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's career is that of a PSOE leader who has held the highest State responsibilities and whose imprint is seen both in the current framework of rights and freedoms in Spain and in debates about the management of the economic crisis and the territorial model.