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🇪🇸 Spain /Economy & Trade

Former Plus Ultra president reiterates 1% commission deal with Zapatero associate for airline bailout

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Former Plus Ultra president Julio Martínez Sola told Spain's National Court that he agreed to a 1% commission with businessman Julio Martínez Martínez if the airline obtained government financial aid.
  • Martínez Sola said former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero directed Martínez Martínez to act as a contact after a 2020 call, but Zapatero denies both the intervention and the call.
  • His testimony differs from statements he made in the Senate and earlier company communications, while the investigation examines the airline's €53 million government rescue.

Julio Martínez Sola, the former president and largest shareholder of Plus Ultra, has again told Spain's National Court that he agreed to pay a 1% commission to businessman Julio Martínez Martínez if the airline secured government aid during the pandemic.

his people

· José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, according to Julio Martínez SolaMartínez Sola said Zapatero used these words when allegedly telling him that contacts would follow their 2020 phone call.

Martínez Sola said Martínez Martínez had been identified as an intermediary by former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He also described a phone call he allegedly received from Zapatero on April 30, 2020, after company executive Roberto Reyes sought help reaching the former Socialist leader.

According to Martínez Sola's account, he explained Plus Ultra's difficult financial situation and its need to access government-backed ICO credit. Zapatero allegedly told him that “his people” would contact him. Martínez Martínez then called and became the company's point of contact. Zapatero has consistently denied acting as an intermediary and denies that the call took place.

success

· Julio Martínez SolaHe used the term to justify the monthly payment made under the advisory contract.

Martínez Sola said Plus Ultra ultimately signed a €5,000-a-month advisory contract with Análisis Relevante, a consultancy owned by Martínez Martínez. He acknowledged that no consulting work was actually carried out, saying the payment was accepted as the cost of achieving the operation's “success.” At the same time, he maintained that the airline met all legal requirements for the €53 million in aid granted by the government.

no favoritism or interference

· Julio Martínez SolaHe used this phrase during Senate testimony to describe the bailout process.

His account contrasts with testimony he gave in the Senate in February, when he said there had been “no favoritism or interference,” but rather a regulated process with controls, reports and strict conditions. “Nobody has given us anything,” he said then. Martínez Sola spent more than three hours answering questions from investigating judge José Luis Calama. Former chief executive Roberto Roselli is due to testify next.

Nobody has given us anything

· Julio Martínez SolaHe told the Senate that Plus Ultra had received no improper advantage.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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