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🇲🇽 Mexico /Crime & Justice

Police seize safe with jewelry from former Spanish PM Zapatero's office

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Spanish police seized jewelry, watches, and other valuables from a safe in the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
  • The items were reportedly inherited by his wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, or were gifts from trips, according to Zapatero's secretary.
  • The seizure occurred during an investigation into the alleged influence peddling by Zapatero in the government's bailout of the airline Plus Ultra.

Spanish police have seized a safe containing jewelry, watches, and other valuables from the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The items were discovered during a search related to an investigation into alleged influence peddling by Zapatero concerning a 53 million euro bailout of the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic.

The contents of the safe, located in Zapatero's Madrid office, included a gold necklace with "José Luis R.Z" inscribed on it, along with other jewelry like wristwatches, earrings, and gold chains. Zapatero's secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar, stated that the items were either an inheritance from her or gifts received during travels. Investigators also confiscated hard drives, mobile phones, diaries, and other personal effects.

The safe was opened not by police technical intervention, but after a lawyer present facilitated a phone call to obtain a key. The seized items also included a necklace with blue stones and watches from brands such as Pierre Balmain, Certina, Lorenz Theatre, and Dogma, as well as rings, brooches, and medals.

Zapatero is currently under investigation for allegedly leading a supposed influence peddling scheme related to the Plus Ultra bailout. The investigation is being overseen by Judge José Luis Calama.

They would respond to the inheritance of Sonsoles Espinosa, the wife of Zapatero, and to 'gifts from trips'.

· Zapatero's secretaryDescribing the origin of the seized items.
About this summary

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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