Overview
- Judge José Luis Calama has formally added three Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social officials to the Audiencia Nacional case over the 53 million euro SEPI rescue of Plus Ultra, citing possible falsified paperwork that eased access to aid.
- Investigators are scrutinizing a 20 August 2020 Treasury document that experts say did not legally clear Plus Ultra of overdue debts and may have enabled the airline to qualify for public support.
- Financier Simon Leendert Verhoeven has been extradited to Spain, is under investigation for alleged money‑laundering tied to loans to Plus Ultra, and told the judge he acted as a lender who did not know the airline would receive state aid.
- Prosecutors have incorporated evidence from French, British and Swiss authorities that points to offshore companies, invoices and transfers prosecutors say link parts of the financing to diverted Venezuelan funds.
- The case began with a Manos Limpias complaint and earlier pericial reports and now risks widening political and institutional fallout as the court pursues forensic banking records and witness statements that could lead to criminal charges.