National Court judge José Luis Calama has asked the National Police’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) to investigate who made the hallmark found on the most valuable pieces of jewellery seized from former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The judge said officers may seek assistance from Interpol and Europol if they consider it necessary.
The instruction follows a second expert appraisal by jeweller Yanes, which valued the pieces at €1.02 million and assessed an Asian origin as “very probable”. The report noted that all the jewellery bears a distinctive mark: alongside the 18-karat gold indication, it features a specially designed letter T inside a rounded rectangle. Yanes said an extensive international investigation into the mark could help identify the original manufacturer.
Zapatero is under investigation in the Plus Ultra case over alleged influence peddling linked to the Spanish government’s €53 million pandemic-era bailout of the airline. He has also been charged with alleged tax and smuggling offences following the seizure of the jewellery from his office. An initial appraisal put its value at €1.3 million.
Zapatero has said the jewellery was a personal gift from Saudi Arabia’s king after an official visit to Spain in June 2007. Anti-Corruption Prosecutors have suggested he may have committed an alleged embezzlement offence by keeping the gift rather than handing it over to the State Heritage office.
Sources: elDiario.es.