The former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been placed under investigation for alleged influence-peddling and other offences by a judge examining the state bailout of a Venezuela-linked airline during the Covid pandemic.
Zapatero, a socialist who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2011, has been ordered to appear before Spain’s highest criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, on 2 June.
Although other former and serving Spanish prime ministers have been called to testify in corruption cases, this is the first time a former prime minister has been placed under criminal investigation.
