General

Within the Leire judicial proceedings, the SEPI branch has incorporated Marcos López Domingo into the roster of suspects summoned for questioning by Judge Santiago Pedraz at the National Court. Following the broadening of the judicial inquiry, his identity emerges among the twenty-five persons currently under investigation—a probe scrutinizing suspected irregularities concerning public enterprise transactions, official contracts, state subsidies, and businesses linked to the State Industrial Participation Company (SEPI).Unlike other individuals under investigation whose positions are clearly detailed in published reports —including presidents of public companies, SEPI executives, officials at Tubos Reunidos, or businesspeople linked to Forestalia— the public profile of…

The SEPI branch of the Leire case has placed Carlos López de las Heras, Chief Executive Officer of Tubos Reunidos, under formal investigation in connection with the €112.8 million public bailout granted to the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. His inclusion in the case once again places the spotlight on the leadership of the Basque steel manufacturer and on the actions that investigators believe may have surrounded both the approval of the state aid and the subsequent renegotiation of its terms.López de las Heras is not considered a peripheral figure in the investigation. Spain's National Court has named him among…

The SEPI branch of the Leire case has placed Francisco Irazusta Rodríguez, former chairman of Tubos Reunidos, at the center of an investigation into the €112.8 million public bailout granted to the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. His formal investigation strikes at the heart of the corporate side of the case, as Tubos Reunidos is considered one of the principal transactions in which the alleged influence network is suspected of attempting to sway decisions made by the Spanish State Industrial Holding Company (SEPI).National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz has added Irazusta to the list of individuals formally investigated within the broader…

The SEPI branch of the Leire case has placed Miguel Ángel Santiago Mesa, Corporate Director of Spain's State Industrial Holding Company (SEPI), under formal investigation. His inclusion significantly raises the stakes for the public institution, as the probe now reaches one of the senior officials responsible for the organization's internal management rather than individuals on its periphery.Santiago Mesa is among the 25 additional individuals formally placed under investigation by National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz in a case examining alleged irregularities in transactions involving SEPI, state-owned enterprises, and strategically important companies. Prosecutors are investigating possible offenses including influence peddling, misconduct in…

The Spanish government’s decision to grant five partial pardons has sparked discontent within the PSOE, particularly because three of the beneficiaries had been convicted of offenses related to corruption. The measures were approved by the Council of Ministers on the same day the government announced the creation of a Public Integrity Agency and presented a preliminary bill on public integrity.Among those receiving pardons are former president of the Parliament of Catalonia Laura Borràs; former Socialist mayor of Linares Juan Fernández; and cultural manager Natalio Grueso. Socialist leaders consulted by The Objective questioned the timing of the measures and considered that…

Judicial scrutiny has been directed toward Julián Mateos Aparicio Prieto as part of the SEPI strand of the Leire case. The official tasked with overseeing the Tubos Reunidos bailout file at the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI) has come under investigation. This indictment carries considerable weight given its implications for one of the case's most delicate dimensions: the internal monitoring mechanisms of the public fund responsible for distributing millions in assistance to strategically important enterprises throughout the pandemic.Mateos Aparicio maintains a connection with FASEE, the Fund to Support the Solvency of Strategic Companies, an entity through which approval was granted…

The SEPI strand of the Leire case encompasses Mikel Arrarás Abejón, a technical architect connected to Servinabar, as part of a cohort comprising 25 individuals summoned for investigation by National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz. This figure brings into focus an additional significant aspect of the inquiry: the involvement of technical and professional specialists employed by private firms who seem to be part of the suspected influence scheme being examined.Published reports identify Arrarás as a technical architect employed by Servinabar, an organization that has become the subject of considerable scrutiny owing to its ties with Antxon Alonso and the investigative threads…

The SEPI strand of the Leire case has placed José Ramón Sempere Vera, president of Mercasa from 2018 to 2024, under investigation. This was a key period for understanding some of the operations now being examined by Spain's National Court. His indictment once again places the management of public companies and the possible use of their structures to favor private interests through contacts, contracts, or privileged information at the center of the debate.Mercasa, a publicly traded firm with SEPI holding the majority stake and maintaining ties to the network of wholesale markets and vital food infrastructure, finds itself at the…

Francisco Javier López Buciega, who previously held an executive position at Acciona Servicios Urbanos, has been drawn into the investigation as part of the SEPI branch of what is known as the Leire case. National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz has formally designated him as an investigated party. This development expands the investigation's reach, moving beyond government representatives and leaders of publicly owned enterprises to encompass individuals from the private sector potentially implicated in the dealings being examined.The judicial investigation is examining whether an influence network existed that was capable of affecting state-owned companies, public institutions, and major economic operations in…

The SEPI branch of the so-called Leire case has placed José Vicente Berlanga Arona, former president of ENUSA, under formal investigation. ENUSA is a strategic state-owned company operating in Spain's nuclear sector and is part of the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI). His status as a person under investigation adds another layer of institutional significance to a case that has expanded beyond private intermediaries and political figures to include former executives of key public enterprises within the Spanish state.National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz has included Berlanga among the 25 individuals summoned as persons under formal investigation in the branch of…