Plus Ultra case: prosecution investigates legality of €53 million bailout funded by Venezuelan capital
The former president of Plus Ultra admits to the judge having paid a 1% commission to the "Zapatero group" to obtain the state bailout.
Former Plus Ultra president admits 1% commission to Zapatero to obtain public bailout
The investigation into the Plus Ultra case has entered a new phase, according to reports from El Mundo. National Court judge José Luis Calama and Anti-Corruption prosecutor Elena Lorente have decided to examine in depth whether the airline met the legal requirements to access the €53 million state aid granted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The central question guiding the investigation is whether Plus Ultra was entitled to funds from the Fund for Supporting the Solvency of Strategic Companies, given that Venezuelan national Rodolfo Reyes and his wife, Spanish citizen Aurora López, came to control 64% of the company. Lorente raised during the interrogation how a company with a majority of foreign capital was able to access this public bailout mechanism. The prosecutor also focused her attention on the alleged money laundering following the bailout, carried out through loans that the airline received.
Martínez Sola admits the "bribe" to the Zapatero group
The most significant moment of the interrogation came when the former president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, admitted to the judge that he had accepted paying a 1% commission—referred to in chats among those under investigation as a "bribe"—to the so-called "Zapatero group" in exchange for securing the state bailout in March 2021.
According to the businessman, it was a commission "contingent on success": it would only be paid if the public money was obtained. Martínez Sola justified the payment by noting that, given "the doubt" as to whether the Government of Pedro Sánchez would approve the aid, they chose to ensure it. He maintained, however, that he does not know what specific steps were taken by former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, although he believes there were some because the bailout was granted.
The former executive reaffirmed during more than two hours the content of a document submitted to the court in July, in which he had already acknowledged those payments and negotiations with Julio Martínez Martínez, considered representative and straw man for Rodríguez Zapatero.
The call of 30 April 2020
Martínez Sola also confirmed receiving on 30 April 2020 a call from a hidden number which he attributed to the former president Zapatero himself. The conversation lasted approximately ten minutes. In it, the businessman explained to the former PSOE leader the company's critical financial situation and the need to access an ICO credit. According to Martínez Sola, Zapatero responded that his intervention could be helpful and that he would carry out the necessary steps.
The former president of Plus Ultra has always maintained that both he and his then-CEO, Roberto Roselli, initially believed that Zapatero's efforts would have no cost, but that they later understood that they would.
Dual defence: legal compliance and disassociation from money laundering
In his responses, Martínez Sola followed a dual line of argument. On the one hand, he argued that the company met the legal requirements set by SEPI to access the aid, although he clarified that he did not participate in the daily management of the airline. On the other, he distanced himself from the alleged subsequent laundering of funds in Venezuela, an issue that the investigation has been examining since its inception.
Forthcoming declarations
This Tuesday, the former CEO of Plus Ultra Roberto Roselli will testify, who has also decided to cooperate with the justice system and admit to paying the bribe. To the testimony of both executives is added that of Julio Martínez Martínez himself, who has already acknowledged to the judge that the payments from Plus Ultra were intended for the former head of Government.
Source: El Mundo