The chairman of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, Julio Miguel Martínez Sola, together with the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Roberto Roselli Miele, were detained on Thursday during an operation led by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the National Police’s UDEF unit, which also conducted a search at the airline’s headquarters, seizing documents and digital media, according to legal sources cited by various news 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.
Released under precautionary measures after appearing before the court
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 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 core of the case—always on the basis of preliminary indications and according to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s complaint—would be the alleged channelling of illicit funds originating in Venezuela through structures in Europe, with a possible temporal link to fund movements following the bailout. In the Prosecutor’s narrative, possible sources of illicit funds include payments connected to Venezuelan public programs (such as CLAP) and transactions related to 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 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.