The order agrees with the company, stressing that committing a crime does not appear “duly justified”.
End of the controversial case for the rescue of the Plus Ultra airline. The Court of Inquiry Number 15 of Madrid has decided to file the case examining the process of granting a public aid of €53 million to the company, which had appealed the complaints of Manos Limpias, the PP and VOX against the company and the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), the body responsible for rescuing companies during the pandemic.
The new sentence indicates that the commission of a crime is not “duly” justified, making it clear that neither the company nor Sepi engaged in the process of embezzlement or deceit and influence, as defended by the plaintiffs.
The ruling also says that the airline’s bailout was approved by the Council of Ministers, leaving the defendants “incapable of making decisions”. “The data on file, taking into account the fact that it is not possible to pursue any other procedure in the case, reasonable doubt has been planted as to the commission of any criminal offense, as to the natural and legal persons against whom it was committed have taken criminal action, it being understood that they had no decision-making power, which was located in the Council of Ministers, the body that approved and approved the subsidy to the company Plus Ultra “, explains the magistrate out in the order.
The plaintiffs were suing at the time for a possible felony of misappropriation of public funds. But the judge reminds that in order to exist, it must be committed by an official or authority, with the understanding that “it is not present because the management board has no decision-making power over the agreed grant.” “He limits himself to elevating the approval of operations to the approval of the Council of Ministers,” he adds.
The magistrate is using the same arguments regarding the crimes of deceit and bribery, placing the responsibility on the Council of Ministers itself and emphasizing that the company had no authority over the operation.
With regard to the crime of obtaining grants or aid from the public administrations, falsifying the terms of their granting, the judge points out that “there is no room for reckless commission, which leads us to consider, given the carried out expert opinions, which did not hide any data on the part of the company, with the intent to defraud » “One is unorthodox accounting practices and the other is the commission of a criminal offense,” he adds.
Plus Ultra issued a statement this Monday demonstrating “its satisfaction with the dismissal and filing of the case”, which it believes “clearly demonstrates that the company has not committed any crime in obtaining support from SEPI”.
“The order concludes that there is no criminal charge whatsoever against the SEPI directors or against Plus Ultra. And it clearly states that Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas did not withhold any information or intent to commit fraud when applying for the funding granted. The Provincial Court of Madrid had previously assessed the airline’s appeal requesting completion of the instruction,” the company says.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
