Ex-Plus Ultra CEO submits documents implicating SEPI in airline rescue scheme

Roberto Roselli, who led Plus Ultra before stepping down, is now assisting the judiciary in the Zapatero case by submitting documents that expose SEPI's involvement in the airline's state-backed rescue. The files reveal that Plus Ultra negotiated a €53 million public aid package, despite questions about its eligibility. Central to the evidence is a chain of emails, notably one dated 26 June 2021 from SEPI's Director of Participated Companies, José Ángel Partearroyo Martín, ordering the replacement of SEPI mentions with the FASEE designation and the alignment of debtor and creditor balances.

Partearroyo also instructed the removal of a 2022 full recovery forecast, pushing it to late 2023 or mid-2024. Such directives appear to alter the airline's accounting to match the rescue dossier, raising concerns of falsified financial reporting. The revelations come amid a broader investigation into former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's alleged mediation and a suspected half-million-euro payment for influencing the aid decision.