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 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.
Which offences are being investigated, and why the public bailout is involved
According to Cadena SER, the people detained are provisionally linked to offenses such as money laundering, misappropriation, and criminal organization, though the final legal classification will depend on the progress of the inquiry and on what emerges once the confidentiality order is lifted.
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 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 records, the name Julio Miguel Martínez Sola is associated with Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas, S.A. Meanwhile, Roberto Roselli Miele is listed by his full name in the airline’s corporate documents, including the 2024 notice calling for the General Shareholders’ Meeting, which specifically mentions the “Appointment of the Board Member, Mr. Roberto Roselli Miele.”
With the suspects freed under precautionary measures, the case transitions into a more technical stage: examining the confiscated material, tracking transactions and the movement of funds, and possibly issuing additional summonses or expanding charges if evidence is solidified. As long as the proceedings stay sealed, evidentiary details will primarily be confined to what surfaces from judicial sources and the court rulings that are made public.
