The government loan of 53 million euros granted to the Spanish charter airline Plus Ultra now concerns the Spanish judiciary. The background to this is that a union has filed a complaint and accuses the government or the state fund Sepi is wasting tax money.

In Spain, the granting of the Sepi loan to Plus Ultra caused controversial media reports because sustainability was questioned. The fact that the carrier is active in the charter and wet lease sector played a role here. Critics argue that there would be no significant benefit to the general public.

According to the daily El Mundo, the Manos Limpias union has even filed a complaint that the judiciary in Madrid now has to deal with. Specifically, the entry relates to the Vice President of the Sepi sovereign wealth fund, who was acting ad interim as chairman at the time the Plus Ultra loan was released. The other positions of Sepi are predominantly occupied by politicians, so that state secretaries and high-ranking officials are among the decision-makers. The union is of the opinion that the state aid could have been "waved through" in disregard of the subsidy guidelines.

Furthermore, the opposition and the aforementioned employee representatives accuse Plus Ultra of allegedly maintaining close relations with Venezuela. A parliamentary committee of inquiry was also set up in this context. Sepi announced that it will cooperate with both the judiciary and the U-Committee and that all documents that are requested will be made available transparently.

With regard to the criminal complaint filed by Manos Limpias, the state of affairs is as follows: The investigative authority is currently investigating whether there are any criminal acts at all. The airline is not on the list of suspects and has not been reported. The submission is directed against decision-makers who have approved the state-guaranteed Sepi loan. The presumption of innocence applies to them.