The National High Court judge José Luis Calama has issued an international arrest warrant against Rodolfo Reyes, the main shareholder of Plus Ultra, and his wife, María Aurora López, as part of an investigation into alleged misappropriation, influence peddling, belonging to a criminal organization, and money laundering. The resolution also extends to Simon Leendert Verhaoeven, whom the magistrate places in the management of a network dedicated to money laundering along with Luis Felioe Baca Arbulu.
The investigation focuses on the destination of the 53 million euros that Plus Ultra received from the Spanish State in March 2021. José Luis Calama maintains that part of that public money would have left the airline's accounts immediately for shell companies and, from there, to a network of opaque bank accounts in several countries.
Calama links the 53 million aid with transfers to shell companies
The case file places a turning point in 2017, when the beneficial ownership and management of Plus Ultra passed into the hands of Rodolfo Reyes and María Aurora López. From that stage, the judge analyzes the company's control structure and subsequent fund movements.
In his resolution, the magistrate states that Reyes and other airline managers "devised an alleged plan to appropriate those amounts of clean money." José Luis Calama adds that part of the amount was sent through immediate transfers to shell companies of the money laundering network in which the investigated person was allegedly integrated.
The judge further details that the funds left Plus Ultra accounts in Spain for three shell companies. Afterwards, the money would have continued its journey to opaque accounts located in Gibraltar, Switzerland, Montenegro, the United Kingdom, and Mauritius.
The judge places funds in Panama, Puerto Rico, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic
The judicial resolution also incorporates shipments of large sums of money to entities linked to Rodolfo Reyes in Panama, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. This international trail is part of the evidence that the National High Court is examining regarding the alleged money laundering circuit.
Another of the elements that the court analyzes affects one of the instrumental companies under investigation. According to the magistrate, that company participated in the sale of gold of unknown origin to a company in Dubai and there are indications of Reyes' participation in that operation.
While the search warrants advance, the case also keeps Luis Felioe Baca Arbulu among those investigated for his alleged relationship with the organization. The judge attributes the management of this network to Simon Leendert Verhaoeven along with Baca Arbulu.
Luis Felioe Baca Arbulu was arrested on the island of Aruba and his defense has communicated to the court that he will cooperate in the investigation and will not oppose extradition.