The magistrate of the National Court who is instructing the 'Plus Ultra case' has given the green light to the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police to trace various bank accounts in the name of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, his daughters, Alba and Laura, and his secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar.
In a ruling accessed by Europa Press, the judge empowers the agents of the Central Brigade for Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption of the UDEF to "expand the information deemed pertinent" regarding several bank accounts linked to the investigated parties.
At the same time, the instructor specifies that "in the event that the central services of the banking entity do not have access to such information, under no circumstances should the relevant bank branch be contacted," thus establishing the protocol to be followed by the investigators.
These investigations are part of the 'Plus Ultra case', in which possible irregularities in the rescue of 53 million euros granted by the Government to the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic are analyzed. In this procedure, the judge places Zapatero at the head of an alleged influence peddling scheme that would have achieved economic benefits in exchange for supposedly influencing the granting of that rescue, reasons for which he agreed to his indictment.
Investigations into the accounts of Julio Martínez Martínez
Calama also authorizes the UDEF to investigate certain accounts associated with businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a partner of Zapatero and owner of Análisis Relevante, a company investigated for suspicious payments to the former president's environment, supposedly linked to his alleged mediation in the rescue.
Likewise, the judge allows the agents to review other financial products of companies under suspicion, including Inteligencia Prospectiva. To this end, he orders the issuance of official letters and mandates in order to collect documentation and bank movement statements from these companies.
The instructor also agrees to the creation of a separate piece in which all the banking information sent by the entities will be fully incorporated, "with said documentation being deposited in that restricted area in order to proceed, within that same framework, to the purification and elimination of irrelevant data for the case or likely to affect the privacy of the involved persons."
"Once the aforementioned filtering has been carried out according to the established criteria, only the reports that contain the analysis of the received information will be incorporated into the main proceedings, as well as the annexes that include the data to which these reports make express reference, all of which will remain accessible to the parties involved," the magistrate specifies.
The role of Zapatero's secretary in the investigation
In relation to Alcázar, the UDEF maintains that "he would have a relevant role" in the alleged operation, "his intervention in the management of communications, the exchange of documentation, the control of the agenda being confirmed, all in relation to the aforementioned exercise of influences of the organization and with sufficient knowledge of their development".
The agents emphasize, however, that "to date there has been no evidence" that Zapatero's secretary has received funds, "directly or indirectly, from the investigated corporate network".
"However, given his relevant role in the organization, it is deemed appropriate to carry out basic inquiries regarding his assets," adds the UDEF in its report.
In this context, investigators have verified that Alcázar acquired a house in the Madrid municipality of Velilla de San Antonio "without a mortgage, through periodic payments by transfer or direct debit, in a time period between March 2021 and June 2023, until completing the payment of 132,055 euros".
"No other operations have been observed that in any way compensate for this real estate transaction or that provide cash income, such as inheritances or recent sales of other properties, that justify the economic capacity shown," emphasizes the UDEF.
Movements of funds in the environment of Julio Martínez
On the other hand, the police unit details that it has identified the company ASP Rentas as "the company in the environment of Julio Martínez Martínez" that concentrates the largest volume of fund movements in its accounts.
According to the data provided, ASP Rentas records inflows of 1,984,521.15 euros against outflows of 1,996,984.41 euros in the period between 2020 and 2025, figures that "contrast with the declared income (89,540 euros)".
Upon examining the operations of this company, the UDEF notes "solid indications of its use as an instrumental company, considering that it is necessary to analyze the destination and traceability of the funds," which is why it proposes to continue delving into these economic movements.