There 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.

The 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."

Five arrests in 24 hours have increased the pressure on Pedro Sánchez. The arrests, carried out as part of separate operations, revealed the existence of two other judicial investigations into alleged corruption involving individuals and companies with connections to the Spanish government. The most recent arrests, made this Thursday by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police, were those of Julio Martínez, owner of the airline Plus Ultra, and the company's CEO, Roberto Roselli. According to sources close to the investigation cited by EFE, the action is part of an investigation into alleged money laundering led by Madrid's Court of Instruction Number 15. Why is the Spanish Prime Minister being targeted? Plus Ultra was bailed out by the State with 53 million euros in 2021 in an operation that generated controversy due to doubts about its viability and alleged links to Chavismo.

Antxon Alonso Egurrola is a businessman from Elgoibar who met Santos Cerdán almost twenty years ago in Milagro (Navarra), where the former secretary of organization of the PSOE was a councilor. Their first shared business did not work out, but the friendship and collaboration between the two was just beginning. A few years later, Santos and the Gipuzkoa, that is, the Guipuzcoan, meet again. If the UCO report is to be believed, the man currently imprisoned in Soto del Real joined two political powerhouses: María Chivite and Pedro Sánchez. At the same time, Antxon allegedly built up both of their businesses. Later, according to the police report, Koldo García, the traitor who recorded everything, would join them.