Overview
- Spain's High Court, which announced Tuesday that José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is under formal investigation, ordered searches of his Madrid office and three other sites and summoned him to testify on June 2.
- The probe examines the €53 million state rescue granted in 2021 to the small carrier Plus Ultra through the state holding company SEPI and whether the airline qualified for the aid.
- A court order by Judge José Luis Calama details about €1.95 million in alleged payments routed through Análisis Relevante, Gate Center and Thinking Heads to Zapatero and to Whathefav SL, a company owned by his daughters.
- The order says associates created a Dubai entity, Landside Dubai FZCO, to receive funds abroad and avoid traceability, linking its timing to a €530,000 contract for Idella Consulenza Strategica worth roughly 1% of the bailout.
- U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assisted Spanish police, including extracting data from a Plus Ultra-linked figure’s mobile device that authorities say fed into the case.