The chairman of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, Julio Miguel Martínez Sola, and the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Roberto Roselli Miele, were arrested on Thursday as part of an operation led by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and carried out by the National Police’s UDEF unit. The operation included a search of the airline’s headquarters and the seizure of documents and digital storage devices, according to legal sources cited by several media outlets.
The investigation, now under secrecy of proceedings (sealed), is being managed by Madrid’s Court of Investigation No. 15 and focuses on alleged money laundering. Prosecutors argue that public funds from the 2021 bailout granted to the airline—amounting to €53 million—may have been misappropriated.
Following their appearance in court, they were released subject to precautionary conditions
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 individuals in custody are tentatively accused of crimes like money laundering, misappropriation, and criminal organization. However, the ultimate legal categorization will hinge on how the investigation unfolds and what becomes evident once the confidentiality order is revoked.
The core of the matter, according to early assessments and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s report, could relate to the alleged routing of illicit funds originating in Venezuela through European channels, possibly coinciding with financial transfers that followed the bailout. As described by the Prosecutor, these unlawful resources may stem from payments tied to Venezuelan public programs (such as CLAP) and transactions involving gold.
Cadena SER adds a crucial procedural detail: Anti-Corruption prosecutors reportedly first attempted to submit the case to the National Court (Audiencia Nacional), but the court declined to take it, sending the complaint instead to Investigating Court No. 15. It is also noted that a previous probe into the bailout had been closed, while this new line of investigation has begun as a separate case file, a decision the defense 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.”
With the suspects released under precautionary measures, the case enters a more technical phase: analysis of the seized material, tracing transactions and the flow of funds, and potentially further summonses or an expansion of charges if evidence is consolidated. As long as the proceedings remain sealed, evidentiary details will largely be limited to what emerges from judicial sources and to the court decisions that become public.
