The chairman of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, Julio Miguel Martínez Sola, along with the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Roberto Roselli Miele, were taken into custody on Thursday during an operation spearheaded by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and executed by the National Police’s UDEF unit. The operation involved a search of the airline’s headquarters, where documents and digital storage devices were confiscated, as reported by legal sources referenced by multiple 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 held in custody, the executives were taken this Saturday to the courts in Madrid, where they appeared before the duty court (Investigating Court No. 13). The judge ordered their release under precautionary measures: passport surrender, a ban on leaving Spain, and periodic court check-ins. According to the information published, the suspects exercised their right to remain silent, a common decision in proceedings that have been declared confidential.
What violations are under investigation, and why is the public bailout implicated?
According to Cadena SER, the detainees are provisionally suspected of offences such as money laundering, misappropriation, and criminal organization, although the final legal classification will depend on the progress of the investigation and what is clarified once the secrecy order is lifted.
The essence of the case—based on initial indications and as per the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s report—might involve the supposed redirection of illicit funds originating in Venezuela via European frameworks, potentially linked in time to fund movements post-bailout. According to the Prosecutor’s account, potential origins of these illicit funds could involve payments associated with Venezuelan public initiatives (like CLAP) and dealings concerning gold.
Cadena SER introduces a significant procedural detail: Anti-Corruption prosecutors are said to have initially tried to bring the case to the National Court (Audiencia Nacional), which refused jurisdiction, leading the complaint to ultimately land in Investigating Court No. 15. Additionally, it is mentioned that an earlier investigation into the bailout was dismissed, and this fresh line of inquiry has been initiated as a separate case file, a move that the defense teams are already contesting.
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.”
As the suspects remain released under precautionary conditions, the case moves into a more specialized phase that involves reviewing the seized materials, tracing financial flows and transactions, and potentially issuing further summonses or broadening the charges if the evidence becomes more robust. While the proceedings remain sealed, most factual disclosures will largely depend on what emerges from judicial sources and any court decisions that are made public.
