The National Police have requested a preliminary valuation from an external expert jeweler of the jewelry found in the safe of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's office, as part of the Plus Ultra case. The discovery was made during a search by the UDEF on Ferraz Street in Madrid. The judge of the National Court will decide whether to keep the jewelry as evidence for alleged influence peddling and money laundering. Zapatero's secretary indicated that the jewelry came from an inheritance from his wife and gifts from trips, while the former president's spokesperson valued them between 30,000 and 50,000 euros and explained that the safe was moved to the office after selling his home to pay off a mortgage.
Smart Safes: What Technology Do They Hide? 🔐
Modern safes integrate security systems that go beyond simple armor. They incorporate biometric fingerprint locks, facial recognition, and IoT connectivity that allows remote monitoring of openings via apps. Some models record a digital access history with timestamps. In the police field, this data can be extracted to determine who accessed the content and when. However, safes moved from a home to a professional office usually have a basic configuration, without event logging, which limits the traceability of their use.
Inheritance, Gifts, or a Very Shiny Emergency Fund 💎
According to the official version, the jewelry is the result of inheritances and gifts from trips. An explanation so broad that it could serve to justify anything from an engagement ring to a royal crown. The curious thing is that, to pay off a mortgage, the house was sold but the safe traveled to the new office. Perhaps the bank did not accept diamonds as a method of payment. Now an external jeweler will have the mission of appraising the treasure, while lawyers refine their arguments. Who knows, maybe the jewelry will end up being the most expensive proof that moving is chaos.