Julio Martínez Martínez, a businessman described as a friend of former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, recorded payments to him under the concept «guías de montaña» — mountain guides — according to ABC España. The outlet reports that Excel spreadsheets analyzed by the Unidad de Delincuencia Económica y Fiscal (UDEF) of the Policía Nacional show Martínez used the phrase, a nod to a hobby the two men shared, for the transfers now under investigation.
The transfers are at the center of a probe by judge José Luis Calama at the Audiencia Nacional, ABC España reports. According to the outlet, UDEF officers seized large amounts of paper documentation during searches of Martínez's homes in Madrid and Alicante; the material included diaries bearing the Plus Ultra emblem. ABC España notes that acquaintances say Martínez avoids new technology and prefers the analog world.