Former Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero under investigation for role in airline bailout

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MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court said it is investigating former Spanish Primer Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling and other possible crimes as part of an investigation into a government bailout of an airline.

The National Court in Madrid is investigating possible financial wrongdoing from the Spanish government bailout of the Plus Ultra airline, which in 2021 received 53 million euros (now $62 million) in public money as part of COVID-19 recovery funds.

The court said in a statement Tuesday that its probe into the bailout has been widened to include Zapatero, who has been summoned to answer a judge’s questions on June 2.

Zapatero, 65, was prime minister from 2004 to 2011. He is a member of the Socialist party headed by current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

He denied any wrongdoing related to the bailout in a Senate hearing in March, saying he “never received any commissions from Plus Ultra.”