Former Spanish PM under criminal investigation as €53m bailout of airline examined

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who denies any wrongdoing, ordered to appear at Spain’s highest criminal court on suspicion of influence-peddling

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.