The former CEO of Plus Ultra, Roberto Roselli, reiterated this Tuesday before the National Court, in his capacity as an investigated party, that the airline allocated 1% of the public bailout, that is, 530,000 euros of the 53 million granted by the Government during the pandemic, to the payment of Julio Martínez Martínez, partner of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, for alleged actions by the former Prime Minister to favor the granting of that aid.
Just as the former president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, did a day earlier, Roselli confirmed the content of the document he submitted in July to the judge of the 'Plus Ultra case', in which he admitted to the payment of money to the partner with the aim of having Zapatero intervene in the bailout, according to legal sources cited by Europa Press.
Roselli indicated that payments were indeed made to the partner, although he clarified that he does not know what kind of actions Zapatero might have carried out and that he never spoke directly with the former socialist leader.
The former executive explained that in the company they assumed that the ultimate beneficiary of the 530,000 euros was Zapatero, that the money was channeled through payments to companies of Martínez Martínez in exchange for reports without relevance in order to conceal those funds and that they were alerted days before the bailout would be approved, according to the same sources.
The statement, which lasted about three hours, is part of the case led by Judge José Luis Calama, who has charged Zapatero as the alleged ringleader of a network of influence peddling linked to that bailout granted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez in 2021 and to other operations, as well as for the jewelry valued at 1.3 million and not declared that the National Police found in his office.
Payments for mediation and "kickback"
Both Roselli and Martínez Sola sent respective documents to the magistrate hours before leaving their positions at the airline in July, in which they acknowledged having paid "large amounts of money" to Martínez Martínez for the alleged mediation of Zapatero.
According to the former executives, they "were fully aware" that Martínez Martínez, owner of Análisis Relevante, and Zapatero "did intend to charge for the actions to be carried out, which was assumed by both as a sudden measure to save the company, even when they were unaware of what internal agreements they might have."
This "claim to charge" was qualified by the defenses of both as "bribe," relying on a conversation intercepted by the National Police between Roselli and the Venezuelan businessman and former advisor of the airline Rodolfo Reyes, included in a police report sent to the court, in which the former CEO stated: "So that’s where the bribe will come from."
Martínez Sola and Roselli stated that they did not "reach a reliable record of the specific actions taken to influence or favor the granting of the bailout to Plus Ultra by SEPI," although they admitted that, "as a desperate measure, it was assumed that Plus Ultra should contract with Martínez Martínez for that purpose, aware that he had a relationship with Zapatero."
To this end, the airline paid "large amounts of money," equivalent to 1% of the bailout amount, for "such tasks" that they euphemistically called "accompanying," according to the document sent to the judge.
Breakdown of the 530,000 euros and simulated invoices
The former heads of the company detailed that the 1% of the bailout, amounting to 530,000 euros, was paid in installments between 2020 and 2025. Specifically, 249,000 euros were deposited to Análisis Relevante, while 98,617 euros were transferred to Voli Analítica and another 110,799 euros to Domotic Europe, companies linked to Martínez Martínez.
They pointed out that, although Zapatero's partner "had the initial intention of receiving the full amount until completing the 530,000 euros committed," he ultimately "accepted that among the payments, the in-kind payment of 69,000 euros consisting of 'business' class tickets that Plus Ultra made available to him during 2021 and subsequent years" was included.
They also specified that around 40 invoices were issued, with amounts between 6,050 and 7,250 euros, under the concept "Monthly fees. Preparation of report," despite the fact that "there was no such report or the materiality of the six or seven reports that were sent was irrelevant to Plus Ultra and simply" constituted a "covering" activity.
Likewise, they indicated that the airline attempted to carry out "a complete and more accurate regularization" of the 530,000 euros paid to the companies of the alleged network, but that this adjustment "was frustrated by the police operation, as the final account dating was not even carried out."
They also admitted that "there were other payments" to Zapatero's partner, the amount of which they did not specify, in exchange for "intensive work" carried out by the businessman in Venezuela, including the negotiation to postpone a debt with Petróleos de Venezuela.
Zapatero's call and the origin of the operation
The defenses of Roselli and Martínez Sola placed the start of the negotiations in April 2020, during the full lockdown and with air traffic practically paralyzed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They explained that Reyes contacted Martínez Sola to ask him "what contacts they could reach with people in positions of influence" in order to "facilitate access to any kind of help."
According to the version of the former executives, Reyes suggested that he talk to Manuel Fajardo, who conveyed to him that Zapatero "could help him and that he and Martínez Martínez would get in touch with him."
"Indeed, the next day, April 30, 2020, Martínez Sola received a call from a hidden number, which turned out to be José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero," they stated.
They detailed that the conversation "lasted approximately ten minutes and, in it, Martínez Sola made a brief presentation to Zapatero about the company, conveying the difficult financial situation it was in and the need to access an ICO credit."
Defense of Plus Ultra as an active company
In response to that request, the former socialist president "stated that his intervention could be helpful and that he would take the necessary steps" and that, from then on, the interlocutor would be "with a person he trusted, Julio Martínez Martínez," according to the account of the defenses.
They emphasized that, "in that conversation with Zapatero, nothing was said about fees, nor did he request anything in exchange for his efforts."
The defenses admitted that "Plus Ultra has made mistakes, that is not disputed," but clarified that this "does not mean" that the airline is "a front company or not fully engaged in legitimate business activity."
"Its economic evolution, the sustained volume of employment, recurring payroll payments, and contributions to Social Security and the Public Treasury demonstrate an active business organization, with the capacity for continued service provision and with a positive verifiable economic impact on Spanish society," they argued.
In this context, they attributed to "a desperate situation of obtaining liquidity resulting from a terrible economic situation" that Plus Ultra ended up "involved in an alleged money laundering network and in an operation of influence peddling."