Former Spanish PM Zapatero investigated over €200,000 Bolivia payment

Judge José Luis Calama of Spain's Audiencia Nacional authorized an expansion of the investigation into former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero concerning a €200,000 transfer he received from the Peruvian conglomerate Grupo Gloria. The payment was for Zapatero’s intermediation with Bolivian authorities on behalf of the group. Zapatero’s defence argued the payment fell outside the original scope of the probe, but the judge rejected this, stating that the evidence was obtained with judicial authorization and that the amount, origin and context could be relevant to determine illicit advantages or undue influence. The UDEF report described Zapatero’s role as a “dynamic of intermediation and influences” that benefitted Gloria and suggested the possible existence of a criminal organization led by Zapatero. The judge affirmed that no fundamental rights were violated and that the investigation remains within legal bounds.