The Popular Party has announced a new investigation commission in the Senate to scrutinize the State Industrial Participations Company (SEPI), separating it from the ongoing Koldo case. The move focuses on alleged ties to Venezuela and the bailout of Plus Ultra airline. Key ministers will be summoned on January 15.
The Popular Party (PP), holding an absolute majority in the Senate, advanced on Monday the establishment of an investigation commission focused solely on the 'black box' of the State Industrial Participations Company (SEPI). This step detaches the issue from the existing commission on the Koldo case, targeting the judicial probe led by Judge Santiago Pedraz of the National Court. Key figures include former socialist militant Leire Díez, former SEPI president Vicente Fernández, and businessman Antxon Alonso, who were preventively detained and released in December.
The opposition emphasizes links to Venezuela, especially in the 53-million-euro bailout for Plus Ultra airline, allegedly connected to Nicolás Maduro's regime. Two days after the ousted Venezuelan leader's capture, the PP accuses Pedro Sánchez's Government of using public funds for 'favors to dictatorships'. PP Senate spokesperson Alicia García stated: 'The Government has turned SEPI into an ATM for its corruption. And in charge is María Jesús Montero'.
On January 15, in a plenary session, the commission will be voted on and approved, summoning First Vice President María Jesús Montero, responsible for SEPI, and Third Vice President Sara Aagesen, tied to a hydrocarbon fraud plot. The Central Operational Unit (UCO) has searched Correos, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry for Ecological Transition for documents related to Leire Díez's network.
Meanwhile, former minister José Luis Ábalos will appear on Thursday in the Koldo case commission, possibly via videoconference from prison, pending the Supreme Court's decision. The PP intends to question him on Delcy Rodríguez's secret visit to Spain six years ago. García quipped: 'We still don't know what was in the suitcases of Zapatero's great ally'.
The PP sustains other Senate commissions on the CIS, the DANA floods, and the blackout, reinforcing its dominance in the upper house.
