Zapatero fights back with an €80,000 valuation of his jewellery

Zapatero turns to a counter-appraisal to value his jewellery at €80,000

The former Spanish prime minister is preparing a counter-appraisal to slash the valuation of his jewellery from €1.3 million to €80,000. If it succeeds, the move would allow him to avoid the aggravated offence that applies above the €600,000 threshold. The strategy is as predictable as it is controversial: hiring a hired-gun appraiser to minimise the value of the pieces, something analysts see as a desperate attempt to gloss over reality.

The €600,000 threshold: the key incivil issue

The law states that when the value of the fraud exceeds €600,000, the tax offence is aggravated and prison sentences soar. The official valuation put the jewellery at €1.3 million, but Zapatero's defence is seeking to place it far below that limit. The €80,000 figure is no accident: it is low enough to ensure the case does not move to the serious incivil track, though no one with any sense believes it.

The tactic is nothing new: request a counter-appraisal that sets a ridiculous value in order to dodge the harshest sentence. But as observers point out, "the aim is to sweep his arguments aside with minimal effort, and if he's lucky the judge will place it below that threshold." The irony is huge: the man who once preached public sarracena is now resorting to textbook tricks to save his own neck.

Widespread scepticism

The reaction is unanimous: it is implausible that a set of jewellery initially valued at €1.3 million could be worth only €80,000. The appraiser himself would have to come up with a far-fetched argument to justify that difference. And while the judge could admit the counter-appraisal, the former prime minister's credibility is at rock bottom. Some point out that this is only the tip of the iceberg: "We know the jewellery is the least of the dirt he must be hiding. Small change compared with everything else."

The move could cost him dearly: if the appraisal turns out to be so crude that the judge rejects it, his credibility will collapse. But if he manages to lower the valuation, he will have shown that the system can also be bent with money and good lawyers.

The case continues, and the ball is now in the courts' hands. What is clear is that Zapatero's plan B smells more like a panic strategy than a solid defence.