The case against former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero dates back to 2024 and when Spain's anti-corruption attorney general's office received two international cooperation requests in respect of the laundering of money from Venezuela by public officials.
Authorities in France and Switzerland requested searches of properties in Madrid, Tenerife and Mallorca. The Swiss authorities had suspicions about a company based in Santanyi and a Dutch investor, Simon Verhoeven Leendert, who made a loan to Plus Ultra Airlines, the bailout of which is at the centre of the corruption investigation.
Acting on the request from the public prosecutor in Geneva, search warrants were issued, including one for a residence in Mallorca linked to Verhoeven.
Anti-corruption prosecutors in Spain points to Verhoeven having played a key role in a money laundering network. These funds originated from crimes committed in Venezuela, including the sale of gold from the country's central bank and other acts of embezzlement of public funds. In the case of the gold alone, it was estimated that 30 million euros had been sent through the United Arab Emirates. The recipient and person in charge of laundering these "very large" sums was allegedly the Dutchman. The mechanism involved lending part of this illicit money to Plus Ultra.
When the Spanish Government, through the SEPI State Holding Company, bailed out the airline for 53 million euros, the funds, loaned in part by a Gibraltar-based company, Valeriar Corporation, were laundered. During the search of offices, conversations and evidence were obtained that led to Zapatero's indictment.
Verhoeven's company in Mallorca is also suspected of having been used for money laundering operations. It was created in January 2020, just over a year before the Plus Ultra bailout, and he is listed as a joint administrator. Its registered address is an office in Santanyi that has not had any connection with him for years.
Separate to the investigation, it is remembered in Mallorca that the ex-Spanish PM attended the Smart Island World Congress in Magaluf on April 20 and 21, 2017. His fee was €30,000. He spoke for half an hour. Questions were raised by the then Partido Popular opposition at Calvia Town Hall regarding the total cost of this congress - over one million euros.