The former president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, confirmed this Monday before the judge, in the capacity of investigated, that 1% of the public bailout of 53 million granted to the airline during the pandemic was allocated to the alleged mediation of the former president of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to obtain said aid, although he could not specify what type of specific actions he would have carried out.
Martínez Sola made these statements during his appearance before the magistrate of the National Court José Luis Calama, instructor of the so-called "Plus Ultra case," in which Zapatero is being investigated as the alleged leader of a network of influence peddling linked to that bailout approved by the Government of Pedro Sánchez in 2021 and to other related operations.
According to the former executive, they agreed to pay around 530,000 euros to Zapatero's considered partner, Julio Martínez Martínez, understanding that Plus Ultra's financial situation was critical and that this payment was presented as an essential requirement for the former socialist leader to intervene in favor of the company.
However, he specified that there was no detailed control of the actions that the former president of the Government might have carried out and that, at that time, his main concern was that the bailout went ahead and to ensure the survival of the airline.
The statement comes after both Martínez Sola and the former CEO of the company, Roberto Roselli, also under investigation, sent separate writings to the court last July, just hours before leaving their positions in the company, in which they indicated that they had paid "large amounts of money" to Martínez Martínez for the alleged mediation of Zapatero.
In this investigation, the judge maintains Zapatero as the alleged leader of a network of influence peddling that would have obtained economic benefits in exchange for his mediation in the 53 million bailout that Pedro Sánchez's Executive granted to Plus Ultra in 2021.
According to the account of the former executives, they "were fully aware" that Martínez Martínez, owner of Análisis Relevante, and Zapatero "did have the intention of charging for the actions to be carried out, which was assumed by both as an unexpected obligation to save the company, even if they were unaware of what internal agreements they might have."
The defenses of the former airline executives described that "claim for payment" as a "bribe," relying on a conversation intercepted by the National Police between Roselli and the Venezuelan businessman and former company advisor, Rodolfo Reyes, included in one of the police reports, in which the former CEO stated: "So that's where the bribe will come from."
A payment of 1% of the ransom as a "desperate measure"
In their writings, Martínez Sola and Roselli admitted that they did not "have a reliable record of the specific actions taken to influence or favor the granting of the ransom to Plus Ultra by SEPI," but they acknowledged 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 agreed to pay "large amounts of money," equivalent to 1% of the ransom amount, for "such tasks" that they euphemistically called "accompanying," according to the documentation sent to the court.
The former executives detailed that the payment of 1% of the ransom, amounting to 530,000 euros, was divided between the years 2020 and 2025. Of that sum, 249,000 euros were transferred to Análisis Relevante, while 98,617 euros went to Voli Analítica and another 110,799 euros to Domotic Europe, all of which are companies linked to Martínez Martínez.
They also explained that, although Zapatero's partner "initially intended to receive 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.
According to their version, around 40 invoices were issued, with amounts ranging from 6,050 to 7,250 euros, under the concept "Monthly fees. Report preparation," 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" a "covering" activity.
They added that the company intended to carry out "a complete and more accurate regularization" of the payment of 530,000 euros to the companies of the alleged plot, but that such regularization "was frustrated by the police operation, as the final account dating was not even carried out."
They also recognized that "there were other payments" to Zapatero's partner, the total amount of which they did not specify, in exchange for "intensive work" carried out by the businessman in Venezuela, including the negotiation of a deferral of a debt with Petróleos de Venezuela.
The contact with Zapatero and the origin of the operation
The defenses placed the beginning of the negotiations in April 2020, during the full lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and with air traffic practically paralyzed, which worsened the financial situation of the airline.
According to the account of Martínez Sola and Roselli, it was then that Reyes contacted the former to ask him "what contacts they could reach with people in positions of influence" with the aim of "favoring access to any type of help."
Following that version, Reyes referred him to Manuel Fajardo, who conveyed that Zapatero "could help him and that he and Julio 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 indicated in the writings.
They specified 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's activity
In response to that request, the former socialist president "stated that his intervention could be of help and that he would make the appropriate arrangements" and that, from that moment on, the interlocutor of the airline would be "with a person he trusted, Julio Martínez Martínez," according to the account provided to the judge.
In any case, they emphasized that "in that conversation with Zapatero, nothing was said about fees, nor did he request anything in exchange for his arrangements."
The defenses insisted that "Plus Ultra has made mistakes, that is not disputed," but they stressed that this "does not mean" that the airline is "a shell company or not dedicated to fully lawful 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 defended before the judge.
In that line, they attributed to "a desperate situation of obtaining liquidity resulting from a terrible economic situation" the fact that Plus Ultra ended up "involved in an alleged money laundering network and in an operation of influence peddling".