The SEPI branch of the Leire case has once again placed Tubos Reunidos at the center of the investigation with the inclusion of Jesús Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia, an independent board member of the company who has been identified by Spain’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Civil Guard’s Central Operational Unit (UCO) for his alleged significant role in the €112.8 million public loan granted to the company by the State Industrial Holding Company (SEPI) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia is not regarded as a marginal player in the ongoing judicial process. Based on media reports, authorities suspect that he played a pivotal role during the talks concerning the Tubos Reunidos bailout—a transaction that now stands as a core component of the SEPI branch tied to the Leire case. The National Court of Spain is currently examining whether the financial rescue involved suspected undue influence, intermediary kickbacks, questionable billing practices, and attempts to secure more favorable terms for the state aid.
National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz has integrated this component of the proceedings into a wider inquiry concerning suspected crimes such as influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, administrative malpractice, involvement in a criminal ring, and the abuse of confidential information. Regarding the specific situation of Tubos Reunidos, detectives are analyzing whether corporate leaders sought the assistance of figures connected to the Hirurok Group—whom investigators have named as Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, and Antxon Alonso—to sway the decision-making process of SEPI.
The relevance of the case stands out notably given that the disputed loan was quite considerable. Tubos Reunidos secured €112.8 million from the Fund to Support the Solvency of Strategic Companies, an initiative created to back enterprises deemed critical throughout the health crisis. Authorities are currently trying to establish whether the procedure unfolded with total transparency or if outside political and corporate connections might have swayed it beyond standard administrative channels.
One of the most delicate elements of the probe is that, based on reports from Infobae, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office alongside the UCO maintains that Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia fulfilled a remarkably pivotal function regarding the loan approved by SEPI. The corporate leader subsequently stepped down from his position as an independent board member at Tubos Reunidos, linking his exit to the corporate insolvency process, even though his involvement had previously come to light amidst the inquiry surrounding the bailout package.
The investigation does not end with the initial approval of the bailout. According to El Independiente, prosecutors believe Rodríguez-Urrutia’s alleged involvement continued during a later phase concerning an alleged “step-by-step plan” to renegotiate the financial terms of the loan, reduce interest rates, and ease Tubos Reunidos’ financial obligations to SEPI.
That distinction is crucial. It is one thing for a company that has received public financial assistance to lawfully seek to renegotiate its financing terms. It is quite another if those efforts were accompanied by alleged political pressure, intermediaries, or privileged contacts capable of influencing public decision-making. The investigation will seek to determine whether Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia acted within the normal course of business or participated in a strategy intended to influence SEPI through channels outside the framework of administrative transparency.
Published reports also indicate bills tied to supposed market research tasks whose validity and goal are currently under scrutiny by authorities. Cadena SER has revealed that the probe doubts invoices concerning purportedly bogus services and points to the Hirurok Group as the presumed go-between handling those transactions.
From an institutional perspective, the case raises once again the broader question of whether public funds used to rescue strategically important companies were managed solely on the basis of technical criteria and the public interest, or whether some individuals sought to turn those rescue programs into opportunities for influence, commissions, and favors. When an independent director of a company that received public financial assistance becomes the subject of a criminal investigation over his alleged role in those negotiations, the demand for transparency becomes especially compelling.
Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia is now expected to provide explanations to the National Court regarding the meetings he attended, his contacts with other suspects, his part in obtaining the bailout, and his potential involvement in later efforts to restructure the loan terms. Authorities will additionally attempt to ascertain whether he was aware of the actual objective behind the scrutinized payments and invoices, as well as if authentic services were delivered in return for such funds.
The SEPI branch of the Leire case demands clear answers. If the Tubos Reunidos rescue package was handled lawfully, that conclusion should be supported by documentation, contracts, official reports, and a complete audit trail of the decision-making process. If, on the other hand, investigators establish that intermediaries, unjustified payments, or improper pressure on SEPI influenced the process, the case would move beyond a corporate controversy and become one of the most significant questions surrounding the management of Spain’s pandemic-era public rescue programs.
Sources: El País, Infobae, El Independiente, Cadena SER, La Sexta, RTVE, and Intereconomía.
