Peru's Gloria admits $228k Zapatero payment over Bolivia dispute

Peru’s Grupo Gloria has confirmed it paid €200,000 ($228,000) to former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The Lima-based dairy and cement conglomerate disclosed the payment in a July 1 filing with Peru’s securities regulator, the SMV, after the transaction surfaced in a Spanish police report.

The payment stems from a protracted commercial grievance. Gloria’s Bolivian cement unit, Soboce, has spent sixteen years seeking compensation after Bolivia expropriated its one-third stake in the national cement company, Fancesa, in 2009. Gloria estimates the state still owes it approximately $296 million for the seized shares.

The company and Spanish investigators offer starkly different reasons for the payment. Gloria asserts it hired Zapatero strictly to broker a reasonable settlement, stressing the effort failed and the debt remains outstanding. A Spanish police unit, however, alleges the payment masked influence-peddling. Investigators suggest the actual aim was to help Soboce avoid a separate $107 million fine ordered by a Bolivian court.

Gloria firmly rejected accusations of interfering in Bolivia’s justice system. The company stated Zapatero had no role in ongoing court proceedings and was confined to promoting a fair agreement between the parties.

The disclosure pulls the dispute into a complex, multi-jurisdictional arena. Zapatero is already a suspect in a separate Spanish case involving state aid to an airline, and the Bolivian Senate has announced its own inquiry into the alleged influence.

For investors, the filing highlights the governance risks that emerge when listed Latin American groups hire foreign political figures to navigate intractable state disputes. The prospects for Gloria recovering the $296 million claim look increasingly daunting given the macroeconomic backdrop. Bolivia is grappling with a deep economic crisis under a new government, making any large state payout to a foreign firm politically fraught.

Gloria is a heavyweight across the Andean region, holding significant cement and dairy assets in multiple countries. Disputes of this magnitude therefore carry regional implications for its balance sheet. For now, the company has put its account on the public record, leaving the contested allegations of influence-peddling to be tested across three separate jurisdictions.