Why does the Civil Guard relate the PNB to the Leire Díez case?

MadridThere is a Basque company that in recent hours has dominated the political news in Madrid: Tubos Reunidos, an Álava-based company founded in 1982 that manufactures seamless steel tubes. In the summer of 2021, within the framework of the coronavirus pandemic, it received a bailout from the Spanish government of 112.8 million euros from the same fund from which, for example, Air Europa or Plus Ultra benefited. A new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, to which ARA has had access, states that the group comprising Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández – president of SEPI between 2018 and 2019 – and Antxon Alonso – a Basque businessman linked to Santos Cerdán – would have taken actions to "facilitate" the company receiving the bailout. And it includes an approach to the PNB that "could have contributed to bringing about the granting [of the aid]". For the management that the group carried out before and after the bailout, it would have received commissions worth 247,000 euros in various payments channeled through different routes.

Which meeting did the PNB participate in?

According to the Civil Guard, it is a meeting that allegedly took place on January 28, 2025, between the executive director of Tubos Reunidos and Vicente Fernández with Andoni Ortuzar, president of the PNB, and Joseba Aurrekoetxea, head of the party's organization. The context of the meeting was the company's intention to obtain a waiver to be able to dispose of all the money it had received from the sale of a property in Sestao, an action that the bailout did not allow.

Previously, on November 13, 2024, there had been a meeting in Santos Cerdán's office, at PSOE headquarters on Ferraz street, with representatives of Tubos Reunidos and Leire Díez. According to the Civil Guard, from that moment on, the then number three socialist "would have carried out some type of management" that would have led to a "change in the dynamics" of the SEPI. Finally, the request was resolved favorably in March on the second attempt: "In contrast to what had occurred with respect to the rest of the applications or management carried out by Tubos Reunidos, this application was resolved in a short period of time," emphasizes the UCO. In return, Vicente Fernández received 40,000 euros, which the Civil Guard "deduces" included Leire Díez's remuneration.

PNV sources admit meetings with the company, but deny having been aware of the parallel movements by third parties: "It is not the PNV's responsibility and has nothing to do with it," they reply. The same voices allege that the "defense of the Basque citizenry" involves "taking an interest in the situation" of "strategic" companies on which "many jobs" depend and which have a "great impact on the economic fabric." "For this reason, the PNV has been concerned in the recent past about companies [...] with actions both in the public and private spheres, with meetings with members of the Spanish government or contacts with the companies involved," they add from Sabina Etxea.

Antxon Alonso as an intermediary with the PNB

Before all this, in 2021, Leire Díez and Antxon Alonso also rowed in favor of the rescue "contributing their political contacts" to "promote certain actions" through their "access capacity" to Santos Cerdán and the PNB, respectively. In the case of the jeltzales, the report states that they were contacts with "influences in third parties" that "could have facilitated the rescue". Francisco Valentín Irazusta, who was executive president of Tubos Reunidos, would have been the one who would have "approached the group" to "obtain certain facilities".

Which messages allude to the PNB?

The UCO has found several messages pointing to the PNB. The first was on June 16, 2021, when negotiations for the bailout were underway. Vicente Fernández addressed Antxon Alonso: "Do you think the PNB has much to do with the company? [...] I'm telling you this because it needs SEPI to survive and it's difficult to get the operation off the ground without help from the very top." Fifteen days later, Fernández asked him again: "Can you find out what the PNB thinks about the bailout? The Secretary of State for Economy is raising objections," he wrote to him.

The next day, Vicente Fernández put in writing his expectation of receiving economic compensation: "If we contribute to making the operation move forward and not be frustrated, we will receive some form of remuneration." A document from that time also focused on this roadmap: "Possibility of Anton confirming it with the PNB. Pressure from the PNB on the Spanish government. Compensation for Servinabar?"

Finally, when the bailout was definitively approved on July 13, Vicente Fernández and Antxon Alonso took pride in their role.

–Vicente Fernández: "I don't know if our mediation has influenced it, but let the people at Sabin Etxea know through you."

–Antxon Alonso: "We must have influenced it in some way."

–Vicente Fernández: "That you speak with the PNB on Tuesday and that it is approved the following Tuesday is no coincidence, we must value it."