At the center of the high-profile corruption case is Mediaciones Martínez SL, a Zaragoza-registered company without a single employee. Despite this, the firm processed transactions worth over 500,000 euros in 2022 and another 177,000 euros in 2023. Investigators believe this entity was used to channel illicit payments involving former Socialist official Leire Díez, Basque entrepreneur Joseba Anchona Alonso, and former SEPI chief Vicente Fernández Guerrero. All three were detained last week.
The company was founded in 2009, and in August 2024 changed its registered address to Madrid and adopted a new name — Promociones Inmobiliarias Ku-Ma SL. According to investigators, this company became the conduit for converting so-called ‘kickbacks’ into real estate investments in Jaca (Huesca) and Marbella, as well as for passing cash payments to the main figures in the case. For example, Vicente Fernández Guerrero is alleged to have received 49,350 euros.
The payment scheme
The sole administrator of Mediaciones Martínez SL is listed as Carmelo Asnares Pellicer, who is associated with about a dozen companies, holding similar roles in most of them. Court documents submitted by the National Court to Vicente Fernández Guerrero state that this firm was used to collect commissions in at least three out of five transactions under investigation.
Specifically, this concerns SEPI allocating 112.8 million euros in financial aid to Tubos Reunidos. According to investigators, a Zaragoza-based firm received 114,950 euros for fictitious invoices in return. Another case involves payments from the state-owned company ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas, where Leire Díez was in charge of communications, to the law firm SDP Carrillo y Montes from Sevilla. The latter, in turn, transferred 17,545 euros to Mediaciones Martínez.
Connections and Transfers
The third case involves the allocation of 17.32 million euros to Arapelle SL, which belongs to the suspicious Forestalia scheme, through the state-owned Sepides. For brokering the deal, Mediaciones Martínez received 200,000 euros. The firm also appears in the financial records of Servinabar 2000 from Navarra, owned by Anchón Alonso and allegedly former Socialist politician Santos Cerdán.
According to data provided by the Navarra tax authority to the Supreme Court, there were four large transfers between Servinabar and Mediaciones Martínez: 5,517 euros in 2021, 54,450 and 107,932 euros in 2022, and 40,474 euros in 2023. All transactions were recorded as ‘goods deliveries’ or ‘purchases.’ Investigators believe these three years marked the period when the scheme was most active.
Key Figures and Details
The case involves not only former and current politicians, but also business representatives and law firms. Investigators note that Mediaciones Martínez SL, despite having no employees or actual business activity, managed to become a central link in a complex chain of money transfers and cash withdrawals. The entire scheme was based on fictitious accounts and bogus services, allowing participants to receive large sums in cash and invest them in real estate.
The investigation is ongoing, and the list of suspects may grow. Investigators are examining new episodes and financial flows to uncover all the details of the scheme and potential connections with other companies and individuals.
