Former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has strongly denied allegations that he used his influence to help secure the state-backed rescue of airline Plus Ultra, insisting he played ‘no role whatsoever’ in the process and had never sought to profit from it. ALSO READ: Former Spanish PM Zapatero faces corruption probe over airline bailout.
In his first interview since appearing before National Court Judge José Luis Calama and being placed under investigation two months ago, Zapatero told Spanish public broadcaster TVE that he had acted lawfully throughout his career as a consultant and was confident his innocence would ultimately be proven. ALSO READ: Spain’s former PM Zapatero denies wrongdoing after historic corruption investigation hearing.
‘I reiterate the categorical statements I have made about my non-existent role in the rescue of Plus Ultra, the creation of offshore companies, or any action in which I offered myself for any illicit activity,’ he said.
Rejecting claims that he had influenced the government’s decision to support the airline during the pandemic, he added: ‘It’s not that I didn’t influence it, it’s that I didn’t speak to anyone about the Plus Ultra rescue.’
Zapatero said all of his work at consultancy firm Análisis Relevante had consisted of legitimate advisory services and stressed that he had never signed contracts with clients, participated in offshore companies or sought to exert political influence.
‘My consulting work has always respected strict legality,’ he said. ‘It will be demonstrated because nobody will be able to say that I exerted any influence or spoke to anyone in the government or SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales).’
SEPI a state-owned industrial holding company that manages public shareholdings, acts as a sovereign wealth fund, and operates under Spain’s Ministry of Finance
The investigation centres on allegations that Zapatero used his political connections to help secure a state loan for Plus Ultra in exchange for commissions. The case forms part of a series of corruption scandals that have increased political pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist (PSOE) government. ALSO READ: Spanish PM denies any knowledge of suspected scheme targeting corruption probes.
Earlier this week, businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a former personal friend of Zapatero, told Judge Calama that the former prime minister had directed efforts surrounding the airline’s rescue and had agreed to receive a 1% commission.
Hours later, Plus Ultra chairman Julio Martínez Sola and chief executive Roberto Roselli also submitted statements alleging that Zapatero and Martínez Martínez had intended to receive payment for helping the airline obtain state funding, confirming that substantial sums had been paid for consultancy and support services.
Martínez Sola further claimed that Zapatero telephoned him in April 2020 from a withheld number to discuss the airline’s financial difficulties, offering to help and indicating that future communications would be handled through Martínez Martínez.
Zapatero declined to respond directly to his former friend’s claims.
‘I have had a friendship with him for many years and I am not going to deny that,’ he said. ‘I am not going to enter into Julio Martínez’s defence strategy.’
Throughout the interview, Zapatero repeatedly appealed for respect for the presumption of innocence and warned against ‘trial by media’. ALSO READ: Sánchez rallies behind Zapatero, calls for ‘respect for the presumption of innocence’.
‘I have every respect for the judge and for the police investigators, but this is an adversarial legal process and I am going to defend my absolute innocence because I am completely convinced of it.’
Asked why he had remained silent for 65 days following the police search of his Madrid office, Zapatero said he had done so on legal advice. ALSO READ: Judge delays Zapatero’s Plus Ultra testimony as police seize jewellery and luxury watches from safe.
‘It has to do with the judicial process and my right to a defence,’ he said, explaining that he had deliberately avoided making public statements that could interfere with the investigation.
Jewellery valued at €1.3m
Another aspect of the investigation concerns jewellery seized during the search of his office. The items, provisionally valued by an auction house at around €1.3 million, have become the subject of a separate inquiry after investigators were unable to establish their documented origin. Zapatero disputes the valuation. ALSO READ: Ex-PM Zapatero faces fresh investigation after jewellery found in office safe valued at €1.3m.
He insisted the jewellery had nothing to do with politics and described it as ‘a personal courtesy gift’ received many years ago from a country whose identity he declined to reveal.
‘There was no desire for personal enrichment, it had nothing to do with any political activity; it was a personal courtesy gift from many years ago,’ he said.
The former prime minister said the items had remained unused in a safe alongside other family possessions and that he had never considered their financial value.
‘They had neither any use nor any destination, and we never thought about them,’ he said, adding that he did not even know how much they were supposedly worth and that the official valuation would be challenged during the legal proceedings.
He also denied any suggestion of tax fraud or smuggling. ‘We will deal with that appropriately,’ he said.
Asked whether accepting such a gift had breached the code of good governance introduced during his own premiership, Zapatero acknowledged that, with hindsight, he might have acted differently. ‘Looking back, I would have probably taken another decision,’ he said.
When critics called for him to return the jewellery, Zapatero replied that he no longer possessed it because it had been seized by investigators.
Daughters’ company ‘Whatthefav’
Zapatero also rejected allegations involving his daughters’ company, Whatthefav, which investigators are examining over claims it was used to channel payments without carrying out the contracted work. ALSO READ: Zapatero corruption probe widens as daughters and secretary are named suspects.
‘My daughters have done their work and all of that will be demonstrated during the proceedings,’ he said, adding that they would present all of their contracts and completed projects in court.
He dismissed suggestions that he had attempted to use his family as intermediaries.
‘The last thing missing would be for me to try to make my daughters front people,’ he remarked.
Leaked private messages
The former prime minister also criticised the leaking of two years of his personal diaries and private messages with his secretary, describing the disclosures as an unprecedented violation of privacy that had affected many third parties.
‘730 days, 600 activities, 150 people affected,’ he said, arguing that the leaked material included deeply personal conversations about family matters, health and private information.
Zapatero said the leaks had infringed fundamental constitutional rights and called for broader reflection on how judicial investigations are conducted. ALSO READ: Ex-Spanish prime minister challenges legality of corruption probe.
He also thanked socialist colleagues, including Pedro Sánchez, for their support, while urging them not to defend him out of personal loyalty but because of the facts.
‘I have received many expressions of support and affection,’ he said, ‘but I ask them not to do it out of faith or affection – they should do it because they are convinced by the facts.’
Responding to comments by opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who accused the government of allowing him to commit crimes, Zapatero stressed that criminal guilt could only be established by a final court ruling.
‘Until there is a final judgment, nobody has committed a crime. That is the ABC of the rule of law,’ he said.
The right-wing opposition People’s Party (PP) slammed the interview, calling it a ‘joke’ and a ‘sham’. Party spokesperson Ester Muñoz said Zapatero ‘has every right to lie, but he has not answered any of the questions or doubts Spaniards had’ about the investigation.
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Zapatero reconoce que llamó a un directivo del Banco Santander “para ver si podía recibir a unas personas” pero que no tiene que ver con el rescate de Plus Ultra ni con la SEPI y rechaza que eso sea “tráfico de influencias” https://t.co/9NrMU6nVjk pic.twitter.com/AVVlcmUxpk
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) July 23, 2026
#Canal24Horas | Ester Muñoz, sobre la entrevista de Rodríguez Zapataero en #Mañaneros23J: “No solo ha ido a defenderse a Televisión Española, sino que ha ido a defender a Sánchez (…) Si Zapatero acaba siendo culpable de un delito de tráfico de influencias es porque hay otro… pic.twitter.com/jO63UHQ6Qn
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) July 23, 2026
🔵Zapatero rompe su silencio en ‘Mañaneros 360’
— Mañaneros 360 (@MananerosTVE) July 23, 2026
El expresidente dice que es “inocente”: “No me he corrompido, en absoluto. Siempre he respetado la legalidad”#Mañaneros23Jhttps://t.co/CfpoB4nErB pic.twitter.com/PebdrFVHT0
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