Soledad Fernández is preparing to depart Spain’s Tax Agency amid escalating tensions regarding leadership changes at the institution and the ongoing controversy linked to the Zapatero case.
Spain’s Tax Agency is gearing up for a major leadership shift following the close of the income tax campaign, as its director general, Soledad Fernández Doctor, is expected to step down after four years at the helm of the institution responsible for combating tax fraud.
The move is also shaping the actions of other senior officials throughout the agency, as internal tensions and conflicting accounts continue over the true scale of the crisis. The Finance Ministry insists that Fernández’s departure was not triggered by a sudden resignation, but rather by a replacement request filed months earlier and postponed until the end of the income tax campaign to avoid disrupting the agency during one of its busiest periods.
However, this shift arrives at a particularly sensitive time for the Tax Agency, as the judge handling the Plus Ultra case recently gave the Finance Ministry the chance to join the proceedings as a possible aggrieved party regarding jewellery worth €1.3 million that the National Police recovered from the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The AEAT’s choice to participate or stay out of the case has turned into one of the main political flashpoints linked to the issue.
A few days ago, the judge in the Plus Ultra case invited the Finance Ministry to appear as a “potential injured party” over the jewellery seized by the National Police from Zapatero’s office. This is a key development because, according to the case’s framing, the Tax Agency would need to appear as an injured party for Zapatero to face prosecution over an alleged tax offence. According to the judge, the nature of the facts under investigation “reveals financial harm directly connected to state-owned revenue whose management falls under the responsibility of the Tax Agency.”
In addition, on June 30, the People’s Party submitted a broadened version of the work plan for the Senate investigation committee examining how the State Industrial Holding Company, known as SEPI, handled the bailout processes. The party scheduled Fernández to appear on July 13 so she could explain the tax authority’s stance. This would not mark her first time before such a committee; on February 18, 2025, she had already given testimony to the Senate committee looking into the Koldo case.
Opposition parties and members of the public have connected Fernández’s exit with this issue and with the Senate committee investigating SEPI’s management, where the departing director general had been called to testify on July 13 to outline the tax authorities’ stance.
“Zapatero’s jewellery has pushed the former prime minister and the government into a corner. Lacking explanations and any plausible defence, they are simply stalling to hide the entire affair, even if it means exerting pressure on our institutions. The judge allowed the AEAT to join the case as a ‘potential injured party’. Since then, a single question has been resonating throughout the institution: Will the Finance Ministry act against Zapatero, yes or no?” the People’s Party stated last Tuesday.
Origin: ABC and The Objective.
