Spanish Court Expands Plus Ultra Bailout Probe Into International Money Laundering Case

The investigation into the Plus Ultra airline bailout has expanded into a complex international legal case. The National Court is now intensifying its probe into a money laundering network, focusing on Khristian Eduardo Alegre Walter, a Peruvian businessman living in Tenerife.

Magistrate José Luis Calama, who took over the case in March, is investigating whether a web of shell companies across Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Panama, and the UAE was used to move funds linked to the Venezuelan government. Investigators believe this network—with Alegre Walter allegedly acting as a key administrator—may have funneled money from gold mining and food supply programs into the airline, which received a 53-million-euro government bailout.

The businessman’s role is central to understanding how this financial structure operated. Evidence seized during a 2024 search of a property in Güímar, Tenerife, has provided investigators with bank records, tax documents, and digital files. These include details on Kaimana SARL, a Luxembourg-based company formed shortly after the airline received public funds, which is now a focal point of the court’s analysis.

The investigation, which now involves cooperation from prosecutors across Europe, has moved beyond the initial bailout to examine a wider network of financial intermediaries. Investigators are also looking into Alegre Walter’s business ties to other individuals, including Enrique and Luis Felipe Baca Arbulu, to determine if their corporate structure was designed to hide the true origin of these funds.

Authorities are currently reviewing the seized materials, which include passports, bank cards, and records of international transfers. The court aims to trace these financial movements and confirm any links to the public bailout, in a case that continues to grow in scope as it uncovers alleged money laundering, suspicious loans, and political connections.