More than €286,000 in cash has been found hidden throughout the home of a close associate of former Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, police have said.
The discovery was made during raids linked to a widening corruption investigation, which is probing claims that Zapatero acted as the leader of an influence-peddling network linked to a pandemic bailout of the Plus Ultra airline.
According to police reports included in the National Court case file, officers found €286,070 concealed in bags, toiletry cases and furniture inside the property of Julio Martinez Martinez, described by investigators as a friend and alleged collaborator of Zapatero.
The investigation is being overseen by National Court judge Jose Luis Calama, who also ordered raids on Zapatero’s offices in Madrid.
Spain’s anti-economic crime unit, the UDEF, believes Martinez Martinez headed part of a corporate structure from which Zapatero and members of his inner circle were supposedly the ‘main beneficiaries’.
Police documents detail how the money was scattered across multiple locations throughout the property.
Investigators allegedly found €4,550 in €50, €10 and €5 notes hidden inside a tartan travel bag, while another €74,900 in €50 notes was reportedly divided between two separate bags in the bathroom.
Elsewhere in the house, officers said they discovered €10,000 inside a golf bag, €30,000 in a paper bag, €5,270 inside a toiletry case and another €50,000 hidden inside a radiator.
Perhaps most strikingly, investigators also reportedly found five white envelopes bearing Chinese characters which police said appeared to translate as ‘ten thousand’.
According to the UDEF report, each envelope contained exactly €10,000 in cash.
The latest revelations add further pressure to the escalating Plus Ultra case, which has already seen raids carried out at properties and offices linked to Zapatero and his associates.
Investigators have also seized jewellery, watches, hard drives, diaries and financial documents during searches connected to the probe.
Zapatero has denied wrongdoing and criticised elements of the investigation, while the case continues to trigger major political controversy across Spain.
