Judge asks police to identify maker of hallmark on jewels seized from Zapatero

The judge's order

Judge José Luis Calama of the Audiencia Nacional has asked the Unidad de Delincuencia Económica y Fiscal (UDEF), the economic crime unit of Spain's National Police, to find out who made the hallmark stamped on the most valuable jewels seized from former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. In a written order dated Tuesday, 3 November 2026, the judge tells the unit to ask Interpol and Europol for help if it considers this necessary. The jewels were found in a safe in Zapatero's office during a search carried out on 19 May.

The order follows a second appraisal by the jewellers Yanes, which valued the pieces at 1,023,320 euros. The firm said the hallmark is an important element for tracing where the pieces were made. The earlier appraisal, by the auction house Ansorena, had put the collection at 1,323,915 euros.

The hallmark and the appraisals

Yanes described a rectangular punch with a large T at its centre, an 18 to its left and a K to its right. According to the firm, these features point to ruling out countries with strict marking rules, including EU members, the United States and Arab countries. It named Thailand, India, China, central Asia and Turkey as places with more permissive rules, and Europa Press reports that Yanes considered an Asian origin very probable. El Periódico reports that the stamp does not match any high-jewellery firm the appraisers could identify.

Ansorena1,323,915

Yanes1,023,320

Ansorena

1323915 EUR

Yanes

1023320 EUR

Data from the article text

Yanes said the hallmark could help trace the manufacturer through a wider inquiry:

“image that, with an exhaustive investigation at international level, could lead to the original manufacturer.”

Zapatero's account and the Saudi gift

Zapatero has told the judge that the jewels were a gift from the late Saudi king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, handed over at the Moncloa Palace in 2007 during an official visit to Spain in June of that year. The judge has questioned that version and has refused to request information from Saudi Arabia to verify it, according to El País. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office argues that by keeping the gift instead of handing it to the State's patrimony, Zapatero may have committed embezzlement. Prosecutors had asked the judge to charge him with embezzlement shortly before the Yanes report reached the court.

The Yanes report, which runs to 138 pages according to ABC, concludes that the jewels could not have been made before the 2007 REACH chemicals regulation. It also points to the lack of certificates, original cases and packaging, and the firm stated:

“When jewels of this kind are bought, it is done at well-known jewellers, with certificates, cases and traceable marks identifying the manufacturer and the trade firm.”

Legal exposure and next steps

The judge has already placed Zapatero under investigation for alleged tax and smuggling offences tied to the jewels, on the grounds that their origin is not justified. Separately, he is investigated as the alleged leader of an influence-peddling network that allegedly profited from supposed mediation in the 53 million euro government rescue of airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic. Sources close to Zapatero say he is seeking a private expert to carry out an alternative appraisal that would lower the figure, arguing that the current valuations use replacement value, which reflects present-day materials and commercial costs. The judge has yet to rule on whether to charge him with embezzlement, and the police are now tasked with tracing the maker of the hallmark.