A business partner of former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has told Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) that the ex-premier acted as a mediator in the €53 million public bailout of the airline Plus Ultra, while insisting he does not know what steps Zapatero took or whom he approached.
Julio Martínez Martínez, owner of the consultancy Análisis Relevante, gave evidence for almost four hours on July 21, 2026 as a suspect before investigating judge José Luis Calama, according to legal sources cited by Europa Press.
He admitted receiving €530,000, equivalent to 1 per cent of the rescue, in return for Zapatero’s alleged intervention. The businessman also confirmed that the former Socialist leader had told him in advance that the government loan would be granted.
Martínez Martínez said Zapatero had ordered the 1 per cent payment to be spread out until 2026, with invoices issued from Análisis Relevante to other companies under investigation. He described Zapatero as the sole consultant of the firm, reinforcing a document he filed on July 20 that cast the former prime minister as its de facto leader.
The president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, had set out the same split a day earlier, telling the court the commission was divided between Análisis Relevante, Voli Analítica and Domotic Europe.
Martínez Martínez distanced Zapatero from an attempt to set up an offshore company in Dubai, which Calama has linked to the former premier as a possible channel for the commission. He confirmed, though, that Zapatero attended a lunch with him and the Socialist Tomás Guerrero that the judge regards as the starting point for the Dubai plan.
The businessman said he had first reached Venezuelan vice-president Delcy Rodríguez through Zapatero, before building his own contacts in Caracas.
He also acknowledged hiring What The Fav, the design agency run by Zapatero’s daughters, for layout and marketing work and said he had kept paying the firm after the contract ended. Investigators view What The Fav as a hub for redistributing money within the alleged network, and say Análisis Relevante paid it €239,755.
Martínez Martínez told the court that €286,000 in cash found hidden in furniture at his home came from old property deals, without explaining why the money had not been declared.
Zapatero, who led a Socialist government from 2004 to 2011, is the first former Spanish prime minister to be investigated for corruption since the country returned to democracy. He denies any wrongdoing.
