The office on the first floor of number 35 Ferraz Street, which was searched by agents of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) on Tuesday, is owned by the PSOE, whose central headquarters is just across this Madrid street. Socialist sources explain that it is an office that the party has for the "exclusive use" of former presidents of the Government, and under this condition, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero uses it.
In an 85-page ruling, Judge José Luis Calama of the National Court, investigating the bailout of Plus Ultra, places this office as the "coordination center of the allegedly corrupt network." From there, according to the resolution released on Tuesday, the judge believes that "instructions are given," "documents are prepared," "sensitive communications are managed," and "financial and corporate operations are articulated."
According to the property registry - accessed by this newspaper - it has an area of 181 square meters and consists of various rooms and facilities. It is located on the first floor of the building, on the left side of the staircase.
The PSOE acquired it in 1991, five years before Felipe González left La Moncloa. Although it is intended for all former presidents, at the moment only Zapatero was using it, whom the judge places as the "vertex" of the corrupt scheme and highlights his "strategic leadership."
The PSOE leadership points out that according to the party's statutes, Zapatero should not be automatically suspended from membership "automatically." It would only be mandatory to do so, they emphasize, in the event that a trial is opened in the case where he is accused of alleged influence peddling.
Likewise, at Ferraz, they explain that, for now, they are not considering opening an information file against the former president as was done with José Luis Ábalos after demanding his resignation from the seat following the arrest of his right-hand man, Koldo García, for alleged corruption, although at that time there was no "criminal reproach" against the former minister. "We will see," they conclude.