A Spanish judge investigating former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over alleged influence peddling linked to the €53 million state bailout of airline Plus Ultra has widened the inquiry to include his two daughters and his personal secretary.
The move marks a significant escalation in one of the most politically sensitive corruption investigations in recent Spanish history and comes at a time when Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist (PSOE) government is already facing mounting pressure from a series of separate graft probes involving members of his family and former political allies.
Judge José Luis Calama of Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) has ordered Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, along with Zapatero’s secretary María Gertrudis Alcázar, to testify as formal suspects after accepting a request from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
In a statement, the court said Calama had notified Zapatero’s daughters ‘to allow them to appear in the proceedings as persons under investigation and exercise their right of defence’.
The investigation centres on the 2021 rescue package granted to struggling airline Plus Ultra by the state-owned holding company SEPI. Prosecutors suspect the bailout may have been secured through influence peddling and improper political intervention.
Zapatero, who served as Spain’s prime minister from 2004 to 2011, was formally placed under investigation in May. Calama has argued that evidence points to the existence of a stable and hierarchical structure allegedly established to exert influence over public institutions in exchange for financial benefits.
According to the judge, there are indications that Zapatero headed a network that used ‘opaque financial channels’ to conceal the movement of money and obtain bribes linked to efforts to secure the airline rescue.
The inquiry has focused heavily on Whathefav (main image), a communications company run by Zapatero’s daughters. Investigators believe the firm may have played a role in handling funds connected to the alleged scheme.
Calama said the business conducted activities ‘whose operations appear circumstantially to be linked to the scheme under investigation,’ adding that it appeared to have played ‘an instrumental role in the channelling, concealment or facilitation of relevant operations’.
Police searched the company’s offices in May as part of the investigation. ALSO READ: Former Spanish PM Zapatero faces corruption probe over airline bailout.
Court documents cited by Spanish media estimate that approximately €1.95 million may have been received by Zapatero and people close to him, with around €423,779 allegedly passing to his daughters through the company.
The judge also placed Alcázar under investigation, describing her as having operated at a key administrative and communications level within the alleged network. Her mobile phone was among the devices investigators were authorised to examine.
Zapatero appeared before Calama on Wednesday for more than three hours, becoming the first former or serving Spanish prime minister to testify as a suspect in a corruption investigation.
During the hearing, he rejected all allegations against him and insisted he had never intervened improperly on behalf of Plus Ultra.
He told the court he had always acted ‘with decency and honesty’ and denied illicitly owning companies, money or financial products. According to legal sources, he also maintained that he had never exerted pressure on public officials or taken any action to favour the airline. ALSO READ: Spain’s former PM Zapatero denies wrongdoing after historic corruption investigation hearing.
The former premier currently faces possible accusations including organised crime, influence peddling and document forgery, with money laundering offences also being examined by investigators.
A separate strand of the investigation concerns jewellery and luxury watches valued at around €1.3 million discovered during a police search of Zapatero’s office.
The find prompted Calama to open an additional inquiry into possible tax fraud and smuggling offences. Zapatero reportedly declined to answer questions about the items during his court appearance. ALSO READ: Ex-PM Zapatero faces fresh investigation after jewellery found in office safe valued at €1.3m.
Members of his entourage have said the jewellery and watches were part of a family inheritance, while Spanish media reports have claimed some pieces were gifted by a former king of Saudi Arabia.
The controversy has intensified further after a private prosecution requested that Zapatero be remanded in custody due to concerns over a potential flight risk. Prosecutors have also reportedly sought the withdrawal of his passports.
The widening investigation poses a significant challenge for Spain’s governing socialists, with Zapatero long regarded as one of the party’s most influential figures and a key political ally of Sánchez.
The case adds to a growing list of legal troubles surrounding Sánchez’s political circle. His wife, Begoña Gómez, remains under investigation over alleged influence peddling, while verdicts are pending in separate corruption cases involving former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and the PM’s brother, David Sánchez. ALSO READ: Trial of Spanish PM’s brother concludes amid wider corruption scrutiny.
Additional pressure has come from revelations of an ongoing police investigation into a former socialist activist, Leire Díez, suspected of orchestrating efforts to undermine inquiries involving Sánchez’s associates.
Against a backdrop of sustained negative headlines, the PSOE has suffered a series of regional election defeats since late 2025. Opposition parties on the right and far right have renewed calls for Sánchez to resign and trigger an early general election. ALSO READ: Spanish PM denies any knowledge of suspected scheme targeting corruption probes.
The prime minister, however, has repeatedly insisted he intends to remain in office and complete his term through to 2027. ALSO READ: Andalusia leaves Sánchez politically weakened as Spain edges further towards a PP-Vox era.
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Calama argumenta que cita a las hijas de Zapatero como investigadas por ser administradoras formales de una empresa mercantil, Whathefav, cuya operativa aparece vinculada al entramado investigado por recibir fondos que están bajo sospecha.
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) June 18, 2026
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