MADRID, Spain – National High Court Judge José Luis Calama has summoned former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s daughters, Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, to testify as investigated persons on 30 November. The magistrate has also issued a resolution agreeing to carry out a new expert report on the jewels found in the safe of the former prime minister’s office, initially valued at 1.3 million euros.
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Judge Calama has also summoned José Ángel Partearroyo, former director of SEPI Holdings, and Félix Martín, former financial director of Plus Ultra, as witnesses on 19 November. Regarding the matter of the jewels, which keeps Zapatero charged with tax fraud and smuggling, the magistrate has notified the former prime minister’s defence that within three days they may submit to the court all documentation in their possession relating to the collection.
In the document ordering the new expert report, the judge specifies that the gemmologists and appraisers of the Yanes jewellery firm must rule on various aspects of the jewellery pieces, such as the possible identification of the geographic area of creation, the identification of precious metals, their current replacement value and that of the entire lot, as well as their age, among other points. The report will be carried out by Yanes, while the previous one was the work of Ansorena.
Zapatero’s daughters appear implicated in the case directed by José Luis Calama insofar as their company Whathefav SL was allegedly used to channel kickbacks derived from influence peddling allegedly exercised by the former prime minister. The marketing agency of the Rodríguez Espinosa sisters maintained various contractual relationships with companies belonging to their father’s alleged frontman, Julio Martínez Martínez.
One of the key companies that contracted Whathefav SL was Análisis Relevante, which according to the investigative thesis was nothing more than an interposed company used to give an appearance of legality to the payment of kickbacks to the former prime minister and his family circle. Análisis Relevante allegedly hired Zapatero to produce consultancy reports, and in turn recruited Whathefav to lay out those reports.
However, the magistrate considers that payments of up to 239,755 euros from Análisis Relevante to Whathefav actually concealed illegal commissions. In turn, another company called Inteligencia Prospectiva paid a total of 561,440 euros. This leads Calama to conclude that the marketing agency actually operated as a redistribution centre for financial flows. Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero testified before the judge in mid-July and offered to answer all questions except those relating to the origin of the collection found in his office, alleging that the matter had recently become part of the case and promising that within a week or ten days he would be prepared to explain the provenance of the jewels. That statement has not yet taken place.
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The magistrate has therefore launched a new gemmological and jewellery report to help advance this separate piece of the case. As determined by the judge, the report must detail eight questions, the first being an individualised and detailed description of each piece that, if possible, includes the identification of the geographic area of manufacture of the highest-value jewels. Then comes the identification of precious metals and the classification of precious stones or gems. The jewellery firm must also specify whether there are manufacturer’s marks, official hallmarks, numbering, engravings or any other identifying element. The approximate age of the pieces must also be determined, as well as any other technical circumstances of interest to the investigation. Finally, the report must revalue the price of each jewel.
