Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has asked a judge and the tax authority to halt an ongoing fiscal investigation into him and his family, arguing the parallel criminal proceedings make the administrative process unconstitutional. The tax agency launched the inspection on June 15, covering tax obligations for Zapatero, his wife Sonsoles Espinosa, and their daughters from 2021 to 2024.
In a filing submitted to Judge José Luis Calama and the Agencia Tributaria, Zapatero called the inspection unilateral and capricious, contending that cooperation with tax authorities could be used against him in court. The National Court is investigating Zapatero as the suspected leader of an influence-trafficking network facing alleged tax fraud and smuggling charges. Jewellery seized during a search of his office was preliminarily valued at 1.3 million euros.
Zapatero has added a former state tax lawyer to his defence team as he pushes for the administrative case to be frozen pending the criminal outcome.