The indictment of former President of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the Plus Ultra case has placed a figure until now much less known outside certain business circles under judicial scrutiny.
It is Julio Martínez Martínez, a businessman from Elda (Alicante) and considered by the investigating judge as one of the main cogs of the alleged scheme being investigated by the National High Court.
Martínez, 58, and a personal friend of Zapatero for over a decade, is repeatedly mentioned in the order issued by magistrate José Luis Calama, head of Central Investigating Court number 4, which is investigating alleged crimes of influence peddling, criminal organization, and document forgery related to the public bailout of 53 million euros granted to the airline Plus Ultra in 2021.
The judicial resolution maintains that the businessman from Alicante would have played a central role as "usual intermediary for the network's clients," in addition to acting as "recipient and executor of direct instructions from Rodríguez Zapatero" and being responsible for a corporate structure intended, allegedly, to channel funds linked to various clients.
The two companies under suspicion
The investigation focuses particularly on two companies linked to Martínez. They are Análisis Relevante and Idella Consulenza Strategica, both domiciled in Alicante.
According to the proceedings incorporated into the case, Análisis Relevante would have been used to channel payments from Plus Ultra. Part of those funds ended up reaching the former President of the Government and his daughters, who received more than 700,000 euros for consulting and professional services.
Zapatero has publicly acknowledged receiving these amounts. However, the judicial investigation suspects that these payments would not actually correspond to the declared consulting work, but rather to alleged influence peddling related to the airline's bailout, although the order does not yet specify the exact scope of these actions.
The judge considers the role of Idella Consulenza Strategica particularly relevant, a company that, according to the investigation, would control 100% of a company created in Dubai following instructions attributed to Zapatero.
The connection with Dubai
One of the elements that has generated the most interest among investigators is the alleged business structure deployed in the United Arab Emirates.
The National Court has located a contract dated January 19, 2021 that would link Idella Consulenza with Plus Ultra in exchange for a commission equivalent to 1% of the amount of the public bailout approved weeks later by the Government.
That bailout, of 53 million euros, was authorized in March 2021 through the Fund for Support for the Solvency of Strategic Companies, managed by SEPI during the pandemic.
According to the instructor, there are indications that this money would have ended up being collected through the structure created in Dubai, since the investigation has not found a documentary trace of the income in Spain.
The discreet businessman who appears at the center of the case file
Until the media explosion of the case, Julio Martínez had maintained a relatively discreet profile despite his political and business connections.
A native of Elda, he developed a good part of his professional activity in the field of consulting and business advisory. However, the judicial investigation maintains that his close relationship with Zapatero would have gone much further than a simple personal or professional friendship.
The investigators consider that Martínez would have acted as an operative figure within the alleged network, articulating companies, mediating with clients, and managing economic movements that are now being analyzed by the National Court.
His name also appears linked to various corporate and financial operations that the judge considers relevant to reconstruct the path of the investigated funds.
Zapatero will testify on June 2
The summons as an investigated party of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has enormously raised the political and judicial impact of the Plus Ultra case.
The former socialist leader must appear next June 2 before the National Court to answer for the alleged crimes of influence peddling, criminal organization, and document forgery.
The investigation tries to clarify if there was an irregular use of public funds and a parallel structure of intermediation and collection of commissions linked to the airline's bailout.