Zapatero's daughters: no legal immunity, but a judicial shield
Zapatero's daughters enjoy no parliamentary immunity, yet UDEF is investigating them for money laundering. Why aren't they in prison? An analysis of a case that smells of impunity.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Zapatero's daughters: no legal immunity, but a judicial shield
Why are two people under investigation for money laundering and for collecting nearly one million euros for sham work still walking free? They have no immunity —they are neither MPs nor senior officials— but the sense of impunity surrounding the case is hard to ignore.
UDEF (the Spanish police's economic crime unit) has identified former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his two daughters as the main beneficiaries of a scheme that, according to the police report, channelled funds through a company with a single employee. One of the channels was a website through which 500,000 euros were paid. The daughters, popularly known as the gothic girls, collected large sums for reports that were never found.
A de facto shield: no immunity, yet not equal before the law
The recurring question is: if they have no immunity, why have they not been remanded in custody? The courts have yet to answer, but the contrast with other cases is striking. While operations involving 100 officers are deployed for minor offences against citizens without illustrious surnames, not a single precautionary measure has been reported here. The most common explanation among analysts is that political power exerts a covert pressure on the courts, or that the investigation is being deliberately drawn out to avoid a scandal.
The former Prime Minister himself is said to have used his influence to halt evictions of properties squatted by his daughters, reinforcing the thesis that special treatment exists. As has been pointed out, even drug traffickers keep their children away from illicit business; bringing them into it is a recklessness that can only be explained by a conviction of being untouchable.
Will Zapatero plead guilty to save his daughters?
One line of thought suggests the former Prime Minister could plead guilty to prevent his daughters and his vvife from being prosecuted. The strategy would be to take full responsibility, even though the UDEF report names them as direct beneficiaries. Lawyer Anasagasti did not rule out seeing Zapatero in prison, describing his daughters' involvement as «terrible».
Meanwhile, the gothic girls have given no interviews nor appeared publicly. Their silence, their total lack of cooperation with the press and the absence of any media campaign against them feed the perception that the official narrative is hanging by a thread.
In the end, the case recalls that of the Pujol children: much noise, little substance. The Spanish justice system has a special knack for diluting major corruption cases into endless investigations that end in pardons or statutes of limitations. And meanwhile, the gothic girls remain loaded, not immune.
Related discussions in the forum
Why are two people under investigation for money laundering and for collecting nearly one million euros for sham work still walking free? They have no immunity —they are neither MPs nor senior officials— but the sense of impunity surrounding the case is hard to ignore.
UDEF (the Spanish police's economic crime unit) has identified former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his two daughters as the main beneficiaries of a scheme that, according to the police report, channelled funds through a company with a single employee. One of the channels was a website through which 500,000 euros were paid. The daughters, popularly known as the gothic girls, collected large sums for reports that were never found.
A de facto shield: no immunity, yet not equal before the law
The recurring question is: if they have no immunity, why have they not been remanded in custody? The courts have yet to answer, but the contrast with other cases is striking. While operations involving 100 officers are deployed for minor offences against citizens without illustrious surnames, not a single precautionary measure has been reported here. The most common explanation among analysts is that political power exerts a covert pressure on the courts, or that the investigation is being deliberately drawn out to avoid a scandal.
The former Prime Minister himself is said to have used his influence to halt evictions of properties squatted by his daughters, reinforcing the thesis that special treatment exists. As has been pointed out, even drug traffickers keep their children away from illicit business; bringing them into it is a recklessness that can only be explained by a conviction of being untouchable.
Will Zapatero plead guilty to save his daughters?
One line of thought suggests the former Prime Minister could plead guilty to prevent his daughters and his vvife from being prosecuted. The strategy would be to take full responsibility, even though the UDEF report names them as direct beneficiaries. Lawyer Anasagasti did not rule out seeing Zapatero in prison, describing his daughters' involvement as «terrible».
Meanwhile, the gothic girls have given no interviews nor appeared publicly. Their silence, their total lack of cooperation with the press and the absence of any media campaign against them feed the perception that the official narrative is hanging by a thread.
In the end, the case recalls that of the Pujol children: much noise, little substance. The Spanish justice system has a special knack for diluting major corruption cases into endless investigations that end in pardons or statutes of limitations. And meanwhile, the gothic girls remain loaded, not immune.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (76 replies).
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