Spain's Zapatero says seized jewels worth $1.5 million were a 'courtesy gift'

MADRID, July 23 - Spanish former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Thursday that €1.3 million ($1.5 million) of jewellery seized by police as part of an investigation was a personal gift he received years ago and was never intended for financial gain.

Zapatero, who was prime minister from 2004 to 2011 and remains an influential figure in the governing Socialist Party, is under investigation over alleged influence-peddling, accusations he denies. The case is one of a series of corruption scandals affecting the party and piling political pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government.

In his first interview since being placed under investigation two months ago, Zapatero told Spanish public broadcaster TVE that the jewels found during a search of his office were "a personal courtesy gift" that had been stored for years with other family valuables.

The jewels were unrelated to his political activities and their origin and handling would be fully explained before a judge, he said. He rejected suggestions they reflected any attempt at personal enrichment.

Investigating Judge Jose Luis Calama opened a separate probe into the jewellery, whose origin remains undocumented, according to investigators. An auction house provisionally valued them at about €1.3 million ($1.5 million), though Zapatero disputes that estimate.

Zapatero said that, with hindsight, he might not have accepted the gift.

"Looking back, I would have probably taken another decision," he said.

The jewellery is one strand of a wider investigation that also includes allegations that Zapatero profited from using his influence to secure the state-backed rescue of airline Plus Ultra. He also denies those allegations.

The opposition People's Party (PP) dismissed Zapatero's comments on Thursday.

PP spokesperson Ester Muñoz said Zapatero "has every right to lie, but he has not answered any of the questions or doubts Spaniards had" about the case. REUTERS