BarcelonaThe acronym SEPI has been part of many headlines in recent days about the alleged corruption case involving former socialist activist Leire Díez, investigated under seal by National Court Judge Antonio Piña. It is the abbreviation of State Industrial Holdings CompanySEPI, a public entity attached to the Ministry of Finance, manages the Spanish state's stake in numerous strategic companies in sectors such as energy, defense, infrastructure, and telecommunications, among others. SEPI, in a way, acts as the Spanish government's investment arm, and its connection to the Leire Díez case stems from the very nature of the investigation, which involves several public contracts. The National Court believes that the former socialist activist, along with Vicente Fernández, former president of SEPI, and businessman Antxon Alonso—the three of them—are involved in the corruption scandal. arrested last week and now released on bail—, allegedly received around €750,000 in commissions in exchange for intervening in at least five transactions involving "public companies and entities dependent on SEPI (the Spanish State Holding Company)." This is stated in a ruling by Judge Piña, which several media outlets and news agencies have accessed in recent hours. The investigated transactions, which were allegedly carried out "through different public officials," took place at least between 2021 and 2023. It should be noted that the companies controlled by SEPI include Correos (the Spanish postal service), the energy company Enusa, the shipbuilding company Navantia, and the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. the Spanish multinational telecommunications company TelefónicaA legal case that has already received the intervention of the People's Party (PP), which has warned that it does not want to "remain impassive," in the words of the party's deputy secretary, Cuca Gamarra, who has dubbed the case the "Montero plot." Based on the investigations of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, the judge considers that the three individuals under investigation formed a group calling itself Hirurok, which "may have steered several files related to the public administration, for their own benefit or that of third parties, taking advantage of their position, connections, and influence." According to the ruling, the three allegedly acted in a coordinated manner and with the utmost discretion to "obtain the maximum economic benefit through the collection of commissions." The funds were allegedly channeled primarily through the company Mediaciones Martínez. The first transaction mentioned in the resolution is the granting of a bailout by SEPI to the company Tubos Reunidos for €112.8 million, in exchange for which the members of the Hirurok group allegedly received €114,950. Another transaction is the awarding of a contract by the public company Mercasa to Servinabar, a company owned by Alonso and linked to the former Socialist leader Santos Cerdán. The contract amount was €18,119.75 for "a technical report on the offices at Mercasa's headquarters."
The third contract awarded is one from the Principality of Asturias Business Park (PEPA) to the joint venture Construcciones y Excavaciones Erriberri-Afesa Medio Ambiente for 2.8 million euros. The individuals under investigation, through the chairman of the contracting committee, allegedly had the power to favor the company Eriberri in the awarding process, and in return, the company allegedly channeled funds to the group totaling 400,000 euros. The judge of the National Court also includes alleged payments from the public company Enusa to the law firm SDP Carrillo y Montes, linked to a public contract, and a subsidy of 17.32 million euros from SEPI to a company linked to the Forestalia2 group, with a commission.
Investigators maintain that most of the commissions received are related to various real estate investments in Marbella and Jaca, although another portion of the funds allegedly went "to individual members of the group." Judge Piña released Díez, Fernández, and Alonso on Saturday, but imposed precautionary measures including the confiscation of their passports, a travel ban, and bi-weekly court appearances. The case, brought by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, is investigating alleged crimes of malfeasance, embezzlement, influence peddling, and organized crime.
Zapatero reportedly met with one of the Plus Ultra detainees before the arrest
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reportedly met discreetly with Julio Martínez, one of the Plus Ultra airline executives arrested last week , 72 hours before his arrest.
According to the online newspaper El Debate , which published photographs of the alleged meeting, the encounter took place last Monday in an "area with no cell phone coverage in the middle of the countryside." The former Spanish president and the businessman walked for an hour and later had lunch at a restaurant in the El Pardo area, on the outskirts of Madrid.
According to El Confidencial , investigators in the Plus Ultra case have also discovered that Martínez deleted messages and emails before his arrest. The People's Party (PP), however, has already demanded explanations from Pedro Sánchez.