The Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social has sent the investigating judge of the Audiencia Nacional, José Luis Calama, three certificates which were intended to confirm that the airline Plus Ultra was up to date with its Social Security contributions at the time each certificate was issued. According to the court, the documents were added to the case file and passed on to the UDEF of the Policía Nacional for a new report to be prepared.
The agency said the documents were generated automatically. Plus Ultra had attached one of these certificates to its application for state aid. The application for rescue aid is dated 1 September 2020, eleven days after the date of one of the certificates now under review. The investigation file also notes that the company may have had outstanding or subsequently deferred debts to the Seguridad Social; the UDEF is to compare these details with the certificates.
The move is part of a wider line of inquiry into the state loan of €53 million granted to Plus Ultra during the pandemic. Prosecutors are examining whether the former head of government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero may have exerted improper influence over the rescue process. The file cites as an indication a meeting on 7 September 2020 with the then Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá. Both have denied any possible interference.
Calama had previously instructed the UDEF to limit its analysis strictly to information relevant to the proceedings. In relation to the certificates now submitted, the police unit is to establish what kind of arrears existed when the application was made, whether deferrals had been granted and whether the issue of the certificates could have influenced the decision on the aid, legally or substantively.
The court is also preparing further procedural steps. Under earlier orders by the investigating judge, Plus Ultra executives are due to testify in September. The results of the current analysis are not yet available. The submission of the certificates and the instruction to the UDEF mark a further step in the process; whether they lead to findings relevant to criminal proceedings remains open.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).