Zapatero to challenge valuation of wife's forgotten jewellery

The former prime minister will challenge the one-million-euro valuation of the jewellery found at his home

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has announced that he will «rebut» the expert valuation of the jewellery his vvife, Sonsoles Espinosa, received as gifts and which, according to his account, were mixed in with the family inheritance and which he himself had forgotten he was keeping. The statement comes two months after the former prime minister testified before a judge over the alleged concealment of these assets, valued by a court-appointed expert at more than one million euros.

A million euros in a drawer: the problem of selective memory

The figure is no accident. According to the case file, a judicial appraisal determined that the pieces – necklaces, bracelets and pendants – are worth a minimum of one million euros. Zapatero's defence now intends to submit an alternative valuation that drastically reduces that amount, arguing that part of the jewellery is costume jewellery or gifts of little value. The strategy recalls the one used by other suspects in money-laundering cases: minimising the value of assets to avoid the obligation to declare them.

In a television interview, the former prime minister said the jewellery was «a gift» that «got mixed in with Sonsoles's inheritance» and that «I forgot I had it». The explanation has been met with scepticism even among sympathetic quarters, given that the family home was searched and the jewellery was found in a safe. «Some people lose their keys, others their phone, and then there are those who forget they own highly valuable jewels», one analysis of the public debate quips.

The elephant in the room: the shadow of Venezuelan kickbacks

Beyond the jewellery, the context of the investigation points to far larger financial flows. Several analyses suggest that the scheme implicating Zapatero would include kickbacks of 0.25% on every Venezuelan oil tanker bound for Spain, as well as percentages on exports of gold and other metals. On that scale, the jewellery would be «small change» for the former prime minister, according to some interpretations. The Prosecutor's Office of the Supreme Court has an open investigation into alleged offences of business corruption and money laundering, while the defence insists the accusations are «prospective» and lack any basis.

The presiding judge, however, has rejected the defence's argument that the investigation should be limited to the initial discovery. «If, while investigating a person over someone's disappearance, they find three bodies in their garden, should that be ignored because they were only being investigated for the disappearance?», one comment that sums up the court's position quipped.

No documentary evidence: a two-pronged gambit

To date, Zapatero has presented no documentary evidence proving the origin of the jewellery or why it was not declared to the tax authorities (Hacienda). The defence strategy rests on two pillars: first, to argue that the jewellery belongs to his vvife and is therefore not part of his assets; second, to challenge the expert valuation so that, even if they are deemed his property, they do not reach the threshold requiring declaration. However, as several experts point out, the tactic of contradicting the expert without providing an alternative valuation of their own is weak: if they really are worth far less, the market would confirm it at auction.

The political noise in the background

The case has peine the debate on corruption in the Zapatero era, with accusations flying between parties. While some see an attempt at a «smokescreen» in the face of the cases affecting the right, others believe the investigation is moving slowly and that the former prime minister is enjoying preferential treatment. What is certain is that the judge has not yet imposed any precautionary measures, and the defence is exploring procedural avenues to delay the ruling.

Why has someone who, by his own account, barely remembered the existence of million-euro jewels not yet submitted a valuation he commissioned himself? The question remains unanswered as the official narrative clashes with the evidence in the case file.