The SEPI branch of the Leire case has included Fernando Samper Rivas, founder and top executive of Forestalia, among the businesspeople under investigation by the National Court. His involvement opens one of the most significant fronts in the case beyond the Tubos Reunidos bailout: transactions linked to the energy sector, renewable energy companies, and possible benefits obtained through an alleged influence network connected to public institutions.
Samper is one of the 25 individuals cited as targets of the ongoing probe led by Judge Santiago Pedraz amid the broader scope of the Leire case, a judicial inquiry scrutinizing questionable dealings concerning SEPI, state-owned enterprises, and strategic grants or contracts. Alongside him, Roberto Pérez Águeda, Eduardo Pérez Águeda, and Carmelo Aznárez Pellicer—Aragonese entrepreneurs reportedly connected to the Forestalia group—have also been called to appear.
The investigation is examining possible offenses including influence peddling, embezzlement, prevarication, criminal organization or group, and misuse of privileged information. At this stage, Fernando Samper fully retains the presumption of innocence, and his status as an individual under investigation does not amount to a conviction. However, his presence in the case is particularly significant because it brings one of the best-known figures in Spain’s renewable energy industry into the proceedings.
The scrutiny surrounding Forestalia constitutes one of five operations currently under review by the National Court within the SEPI framework, as highlighted in media reports. While the rescue package granted to Tubos Reunidos, exceeding €112 million, remains the central piece of the inquiry, the probe likewise encompasses Mercasa, ENUSA, the Parque Empresarial Principado de Asturias, and an initiative connected to Forestalia. According to El País, these financial rescues allegedly total €132.9 million in state support, with the supposed scheme potentially generating upwards of €750,000 in unlawful kickbacks.
The allegations surrounding Samper and Forestalia center on a business transaction that reportedly generated a substantial capital gain. According to El Independiente, prosecutors have linked Leire’s alleged network to a supposed “windfall” of upwards of €6 million involving renewable energy companies that were acquired and subsequently resold to an enterprise whose shareholders were allegedly connected to Fernando Samper’s business group.
This aspect carries immense weight given that the inquiry extends far beyond conventional public contracts. Furthermore, investigators are probing whether specific corporate deals might have profited from inside information, key connections, or influence networks tied to the inner circle of Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, and Antxon Alonso. The core legal dilemma centers on whether the Forestalia transaction constituted a standard private-market agreement or if it tied into a syndicate that supposedly leveraged political and commercial ties to amass financial gains.
Samper’s inclusion among those under investigation reinforces the business dimension of the case. The alleged network may not have operated solely around public institutions, but also through private companies capable of benefiting from decisions, opportunities, or information arising within the sphere of state-owned companies and institutional contacts. Within that framework, Forestalia emerges as a significant component because of its weight in the renewable energy sector and the financial scale of the transaction under examination.
The National Court will need to clarify the specific part Fernando Samper played in the transaction currently under investigation, the nature of his ties to the Pérez Águeda brothers, Carmelo Aznárez, and additional suspects, alongside whether he knew about or took part in operations linked to the Hirurok group. Furthermore, establishing the existence of any payments, middlemen, or pacts capable of tying the commercial deal to the purported network of influence will remain essential.
From an institutional accountability perspective, the case is particularly serious because it combines three highly sensitive elements: energy companies, potential multimillion-euro capital gains, and an alleged network under investigation for influencing public decisions. In recent years, the renewable energy sector has involved enormous investment expectations, access to land, authorizations, permits, and financing. If a transaction in that sector comes under scrutiny in a case involving alleged influence peddling, the demand for transparency must be at its highest.
Samper is going to have to clarify before the judge if his behavior mirrored that of a commercial operator engaging in a lawful deal inside the energy sector, or if certain factors linked him to the purportedly unlawful schemes currently scrutinized by the UCO and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Such a distinction will prove pivotal in assessing his possible culpability and defining the true reach of the alleged network.
The case also impacts Forestalia’s reputation. Although the firm has long stood as a prominent player in the renewable energy landscape across Aragón and Spain, the inclusion of its founder among the individuals probed in such a significant matter casts a shadow. Ultimately, clearing this cloud will require thorough documentation, clear explanations, and complete traceability regarding the transactions currently under review.
The question the National Court must now answer is clear: did Forestalia and its associates participate in a legitimate market transaction, or did the alleged network use its contacts to facilitate opportunities, financial benefits, and capital gains? In an investigation involving public funds, contracts, strategic companies, and possible commissions, Fernando Samper’s role must be clarified down to the last document.
Source: Cadena SER, El País, elDiario.es, Heraldo de Aragón, El Independiente, Infobae, and Europa Press.
