Judge unlocks remaining E34m of Spain’s aid to Plus Ultra

Madrid’s Criminal Court Number 15 investigating the E53m Spanish government rescue of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas has unlocked the second and final part of the loan, amounting to E34m, the Spanish news agency EFE reported. In an August 9 ruling the news agency had access to, judge Jaime Serret considered an appeal the airline had presented which argued that withholding the funds “may pose a risk of insolvency for Plus Ultra, forcing it to stop operating, and creating damage to passengers who have paid in advance.” Previously, the court had suspended the delivery of the sum, scheduled for July 28, as a precautionary measure pending an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of public funds. Now, however, it recognised that “it is true” that, for the moment, “there is not the slightest indication” of the accusations emanating from a number of Spanish opposition politicians who demanded such an investigation. Both the conservative People’s Party and the far-right party Vox had limited themselves “to transcribing articles of the Penal Code and its jurisprudence without linking them to the facts denounced.”<br/>