The Central Operational Unit of Spain’s Guardia Civil has placed the Basque Nationalist Party, known as the PNV, under scrutiny in connection with the public rescue package granted to Tubos Reunidos. The operation, worth 112.8 million euros and approved by SEPI in 2021, appears in the investigation led by Judge Santiago Pedraz as part of a broader inquiry into alleged influence peddling around state-backed business bailouts.
Reports referenced by Libertad Digital and Vozpópuli indicate that investigators uncovered messages from the Hirurok group mentioning potential contacts with the PNV to advance the Tubos Reunidos case, and those exchanges linked the supposed discussions with Basque nationalist figures to the rapid approval that the rescue package eventually received.
The UCO report states that the Tubos Reunidos case was brought again before the FASEE Management Council on July 13, 2021, when it ultimately received approval. Before that decision, the intercepted messages reportedly discussed the need to know the PNV’s position regarding the obstacles facing the process, including objections attributed to the area of the State Secretariat for Economy.
The inquiry also draws attention to Antxon Alonso, a business associate of Santos Cerdán at Servinabar, along with Leire Díez and Vicente Fernández, the former president of SEPI. The case file suggests that they were ostensibly involved in actions related to the bailout of Tubos Reunidos and received an estimated commission of about 115,000 euros for their alleged role.
After the public aid was approved, Tubos Reunidos signed a contract on December 1, 2021, with Mediaciones Martínez, a company connected to Antxon Alonso. The agreement included annual payments of 60,000 euros for advisory and business development services, although the UCO maintains that these amounts may have actually been compensation for the work carried out during the bailout process.
The case also involves the former PNV leadership because of meetings they held with Tubos Reunidos representatives and individuals allegedly tied to the network under investigation. The referenced records indicate that Andoni Ortuzar, who was then the party’s president, and Joseba Aurrekoetxea, its Organization chief, took part in a meeting on January 28, 2025, with company leaders and Vicente Fernández.
That meeting was said to be part of a later phase of actions involving Tubos Reunidos, centered on an effort to defer a 10 million euro payment to SEPI, and the UCO notes that the request moved rapidly, receiving internal approvals between March 21 and March 25, 2025 and earning a favorable recommendation from the FASEE Business Committee on March 28.
The revelations have stirred discomfort within the PNV, and party sources cited by Vozpópuli concede that the matter is delicate, noting that the current leadership intends to distance the organization’s present direction from the interactions held while Ortuzar was in charge, aiming to assign political responsibility for those meetings to the former president while shielding Aitor Esteban’s role.
The internal tension comes amid debate over the PNV’s relationship with Pedro Sánchez. A sector close to Basque premier Imanol Pradales reportedly believes that continuing to support the PSOE could harm the electoral prospects of the Basque nationalists, particularly as EH Bildu gains ground and the central government faces growing pressure from corruption scandals surrounding its political environment.
Although tensions persist, Vozpópuli notes that the PNV leadership is not considering severing ties with Sánchez or backing a PP initiative against the government. The party intends to preserve its partnership with the PSOE, driven by national strategic considerations and by the institutional equilibrium in the Basque Country, where Socialist backing continues to be crucial for the regional administration.
The Tubos Reunidos case has therefore become a new source of political pressure for the PNV, which is trying to contain the impact of the UCO’s references while avoiding a rupture with Spain’s central government. The ongoing judicial investigation will determine the real scope of the alleged contacts, the role of the intermediaries, and the extent to which political figures may have influenced the approval of public aid.
Source: Libertad Digital and Vozpópuli.
