The magistrate has agreed to question the airline’s legal representative for the first time to clarify the facts that would give rise to an alleged crime of embezzlement and exploitation
The head of the investigating judge No. 15 of Madrid, Esperanza Collazos, summoned Plus Ultra as the person under investigation as a legal entity to be held on June 15 at 10:00 am in the context of the ongoing proceedings concerning the alleged irregularities in the granting of the state aid he received for 53 million euros.
Legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press that the magistrate has agreed to interview the airline’s legal representative for the first time to clarify the facts that would give rise to an alleged crime of embezzlement and exploitation. For example, as Vozpópuli has published, Vozpópuli has estimated the request of Vox, who together with the PP and Clean Hands are making the popular accusation in the case.
The investigating judge deemed it relevant to listen to the company after the experts who wrote the report on behalf of the court and those who signed the report requested by the State Association for Industrial Participation (SEPI) submitted their conclusions on March 29 for presented to the Court.
According to legal sources who were present in the confrontation between experts at this agency, the experts assured that part of the grant awarded by the Executive to Plus Ultra has been used for a payment to Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
The same sources indicated that the court’s experts insisted that the company – once it received the aid – would pay a full debt to the Venezuelan state-owned company. For their part, the experts from Deloitte and DC Advisor explained that it was a payment to a supplier.
From Plus Ultra, they confirmed to Europa Press that the payment related to the oil company had been addressed during the confrontation. They indicated that the team of experts advising SEPI clarified that “the debt owed to PDVSA had not been paid due to the embargo and international sanctions.” The company also stressed that the oil company is the fuel supplier to all companies operating in Caracas, not just Plus Ultra, and insisted that this “problem” affects all airlines flying to Venezuela.
Given this action, the court’s independent experts indicated that “the usual course of action” in a company in need of government support is to defer debt and make suppliers wait.
During the confrontation, they questioned whether the company could get the 53 million euros grant, while the latter defended SEPI’s decision to grant the aid. Thus, both teams confirmed the reports they submitted to the court and which they had already defended on January 18 in a first confrontation that had to be repeated yesterday due to a technical failure.
In about two and a half hours, the experts answered questions from Judge Esperanza Collazos, the Public Prosecution Service, the Public Prosecution Service and the popular accusations of Manos Limpias, PP and Vox.
Now it’s the turn of Plus Ultra, who has to go to court on June 15. After the company is called for an investigation, it will be able to choose whether to respond to all of the allegations and the judge or only to its defense; You can also exercise your right not to testify.
After the interrogation, the judge has not yet responded to requests from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Madrid, who have requested the file, as there is no evidence of committing an alleged criminal offence.
State attorney Rosa María Seoane assured that it can be concluded that the expert report does not contain any element that could, even indirectly, cast doubt on Plus Ultra’s status as a “company not in crisis” at the end of 2019, much less distant clues of constitutive element of any criminal type.
The Madrid prosecutor’s office concluded that there were no “conclusive elements” that would allow it to change the criteria set out by the prosecution in previous writings.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
