The Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has launched a large-scale investigation into the airline Plus Ultra. Investigators suspect the company may have used €53 million received as government support after the pandemic for money laundering activities linked to Venezuela. According to the investigation, the funds were funneled through a complex network of financial operations in France, Switzerland, and Spain.
The initial complaint was filed with the National Court, but after it was declined due to lack of jurisdiction, the case was transferred to Madrid’s 15th Investigative Court. This court had previously handled matters related to the allocation of funds to Plus Ultra, but the investigation was temporarily closed.
Operation and arrests
On Thursday, law enforcement officers searched the airline’s offices. Plus Ultra president Julio Martínez and CEO Roberto Roselli were detained. The investigation is being conducted in complete secrecy. Last year, the prosecutor’s office received international requests for cooperation from the financial prosecutor’s office in France and the Geneva prosecutor’s office. These requests concerned searches in Madrid, Pozuelo, Tenerife, and Mallorca. Foreign colleagues were investigating a money laundering network linked to Venezuela that also operated in Spain.
The Prosecutor’s Office concluded that Plus Ultra may have misused public funds. According to investigators, the money allocated by the Council of Ministers on March 9, 2021, was used to pay off existing loans. Documents obtained by the investigation state that Plus Ultra acted as the recipient of loans from three companies linked to a criminal organization involved in gold trading.
Schemes and Suspicions
Investigators believe that the state funds were used to repay debts and that the true purpose was to launder illicit income. The case materials include a theory that luxury watch sales may have been used to launder money. The prosecutor’s complaint was filed in October last year, while other high-profile investigations—such as the Koldo case and the oil products case—were also underway.
Among the suspects are three Peruvian citizens, two Venezuelans, one Dutch national, and at least one Spanish lawyer. According to investigators, they all belonged to a criminal group. Their activities focused on laundering money obtained from embezzlement in Venezuela, including funds from state food programs (CLAP) and gold sales from the national bank.
International Connections
According to the prosecutor’s office, the organization operated so actively that Plus Ultra would transfer the received funds almost immediately to the accounts of foreign companies within the criminal network. The National Court declined to handle the case not due to lack of criminal elements, but because it did not fall under its jurisdiction. The judicial panel recommended that the prosecution turn to a Madrid court, where the case regarding Plus Ultra’s state aid had previously been reviewed and temporarily closed, with the possibility of reopening if new evidence emerged.
Judge Esperanza Collazos was forced to halt the investigation in 2023 due to a procedural error during the extension of the inquiry period. Representatives from the Vox and PP parties, as well as the organization Manos Limpias, participated in the case, seeking to determine whether the company was truly eligible for government support and if any funds had been funneled to the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
Expert assessments and new facts
The government designated Plus Ultra as a strategically important company to justify providing aid. However, court-appointed experts pointed to signs of insolvency and a potential shutdown as early as 2019, casting doubt on the legality of receiving state support from SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales).
Earlier this year, the prosecutor’s office again appealed to the Madrid court after the National Court refused the case. Investigators believe the fraudulent network used various companies to acquire real estate and secure loans in the name of Plus Ultra, which were then fully repaid.
Details of financial transactions
The case documents mention the sale of gold worth around 30 million euros by one of the companies in the United Arab Emirates, as well as the transfer of funds to accounts in Panama. Investigators continue to analyze the financial flows and connections between those involved in the scheme.
