The chairman of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, Julio Miguel Martínez Sola, and the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Roberto Roselli Miele, were arrested on Thursday as part of an operation led by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the National Police’s UDEF unit. The operation included a search of the airline’s headquarters and the seizure of documents and digital storage devices, according to legal sources cited by several media outlets.
The inquiry, currently under secrecy of proceedings (sealed), is overseen by Madrid’s Court of Investigation No. 15 and centers on suspected money laundering. Prosecutors contend that public funds from the 2021 bailout provided to the airline—€53 million in total—might have been misappropriated.
After appearing before the court, released under precautionary measures
After being taken into custody, the executives were brought this Saturday before the courts in Madrid, where they appeared before the duty court (Investigating Court No. 13). The judge ordered their release under several precautionary conditions: handing over their passports, a ban on leaving Spain, and periodic check-ins with the court. According to the information made public, the suspects invoked their right to remain silent, a common decision in cases placed under confidentiality.
What violations are under investigation, and why is the public bailout implicated?
According to Cadena SER, the people detained are provisionally linked to offenses such as money laundering, misappropriation, and criminal organization, though the final legal classification will depend on the progress of the inquiry and on what emerges once the confidentiality order is lifted.
The core of the matter, according to early assessments and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s report, could relate to the alleged routing of illicit funds originating in Venezuela through European channels, possibly coinciding with financial transfers that followed the bailout. As described by the Prosecutor, these unlawful resources may stem from payments tied to Venezuelan public programs (such as CLAP) and transactions involving gold.
Cadena SER adds a relevant procedural point: Anti-Corruption prosecutors reportedly attempted to take the case initially to the National Court (Audiencia Nacional), which declined jurisdiction, and the complaint subsequently ended up before Investigating Court No. 15. It is also noted that a previous investigation into the bailout was shelved, and that this new line of inquiry has been opened as a separate case file, something the defence teams are already challenging.
Who exactly are Julio Miguel Martínez Sola and Roberto Roselli Miele?
In public corporate registry filings, the name Julio Miguel Martínez Sola appears linked to Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, S.A., while Roberto Roselli Miele is recorded under his complete name throughout the airline’s official paperwork, including the 2024 call for the General Shareholders’ Meeting, where the document expressly refers to the “Appointment of the Board Member, Mr. Roberto Roselli Miele.”
With the suspects freed under precautionary measures, the case transitions into a more technical stage: examining the confiscated material, tracking transactions and the movement of funds, and possibly issuing additional summonses or expanding charges if evidence is solidified. As long as the proceedings stay sealed, evidentiary details will primarily be confined to what surfaces from judicial sources and the court rulings that are made public.
