Zapatero alleges that the jewels found in Moncloa were a personal gift from the Saudi king

After more than three months of silence, the former president of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero yesterday informed the investigator of the Plus Ultra case that the jewels that were found in the safe of his office by the Police were a "strictly personal gift" from the king of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the official trip he made to Madrid on June 18 and 19, 2007, when the accused today was head of the Executive.

According to the version given by Zapatero to the judge of the National Court José Luis Calama, the million-dollar precious stones (emeralds, diamonds or sapphires from Zambia and Thailand valued at 1.3 million euros) were accepted by the former leader of the PSOE out of "deference."

His lawyer, Víctor Moreno Catena, explained in the letter that, with these arguments, he intends to "neutralize the evidence that could currently emerge from the investigation"; in reference to the accusations against the former president for the crimes of tax fraud and smuggling.

However, the reality is that Zapatero, as EL MUNDO reveals today, has not managed to get Saudi Arabia to issue any certificate regarding the origin of the jewels nor has he managed to dismantle the evidence that weighs against him. Investigation sources consulted by EL MUNDO consider that the explanations offered by the former president, after months of silence, are vague, implausible and are not supported by any documentary support. Furthermore, they refute the thesis that the million-dollar jewels were a "personal gift" when, in reality, they were supposedly received at the Moncloa Palace when he held the position of President of the Government within the framework of an "official trip."

"This collection comes from the gift made as a personal attention by His Royal Saudi Highness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, to Mr. Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and was delivered in Madrid to his family home located in the so-called Palacio de la Moncloa, on the occasion of the official trip made to Madrid by the Saudi monarch on June 18 and 19, 2007," Zapatero's lawyer argued. "This was strictly personal attention, accepted out of deference and as a sign of gratitude and respect from my client towards the Saudi monarch," added the former president of the Government.

In contrast, the sources consulted point out that having accepted these jewels could constitute a crime of improper passive bribery that penalizes the "authority or public official who, for their own benefit or that of a third party, admits, by themselves or through an intermediary, a gift or gift that was offered in consideration of their position or function."

Likewise, sources in the case recall that it is up to Zapatero to distort the evidence - not the judge to collect the documentation on the jewels - and, they add, that Saudi Arabia is a country where judicial cooperation is conspicuous by its absence.

Likewise, the sources consulted recall that, even if it were true that it was a "gift", instead of the payment of a commission, it would have had to be declared to the Tax Agency by the former leader of the PSOE in his corresponding declaration from 2008.

At this point, dates are important. Former president Zapatero has finally chosen to tell the judge that the jewels were a gift received in 2007 to use the figure of prescription when facing an alleged crime against the Public Treasury of an aggravated nature (since it is possible that the defrauded fee exceeds 600,000 euros). In these cases, the limitation period is ten years.

The reality is that resorting to the statute of limitations was the only possible defense strategy for the former president since the speed with which Calama initiated the separate piece of jewelry, after receiving the appraisal carried out by the Ansorena auction house, prevented him from benefiting from an express regularization before the Treasury and achieving an exemption from criminal liability.

Finally, in 2005, the Council of Ministers chaired by Zapatero approved the Code of Good Government applicable to the members of the Executive, the Secretaries of State and the rest of the senior officials of the General Administration of the State.

That code, which Zapatero clearly failed to comply with, stated that "any gift, favor or service under advantageous conditions that goes beyond the usual, social and courtesy uses or loans or other economic benefits that may condition the performance of one's duties, without prejudice to the provisions of the Penal Code, should be rejected."

It also stipulated that "in the case of gifts of greater significance of an institutional nature, they will be incorporated into the assets of the State, in the terms provided for in Law 33/2003, of November 3, on the Assets of Public Administrations, in accordance with what is determined by regulation."