Zapatero and PSOE face investigations into business links and party finances

Spanish authorities are conducting multiple investigations involving former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the PSOE. The Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) is examining Zapatero’s potential role in attracting clients to investigated business entities. Investigators have identified Excel files sent by Zapatero to an associate, Julio Martínez, which contain lists of individuals that may link him to the operations under scrutiny.

Separately, Judge Ismael Moreno of the Audiencia Nacional is leading a complex investigation into PSOE's finances between 2017 and 2024. The probe focuses on discrepancies regarding cash payments made to former minister José Luis Ábalos and advisor Koldo García. The investigation involves reviewing a high volume of documentation and bank records, including requests for party donations and audited accounts from the Court of Auditors.

Amid these legal challenges, Minister Óscar Puente has defended Zapatero’s political legacy, describing him as a political ‘asset’ for the PSOE, though he stopped short of ‘putting his hand in the fire’ for him. Puente also questioned the validity of evidence stemming from a phone cloning incident in the United States.