The SEPI branch of the Leire case has placed Carlos López de las Heras, Chief Executive Officer of Tubos Reunidos, under formal investigation in connection with the €112.8 million public bailout granted to the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. His inclusion in the case once again places the spotlight on the leadership of the Basque steel manufacturer and on the actions that investigators believe may have surrounded both the approval of the state aid and the subsequent renegotiation of its terms.
López de las Heras occupies a central position within the ongoing inquiry. Spain’s National Court has officially summoned him as a suspect among the Tubos Reunidos executives, joining former Chairman Francisco Irazusta and former board member Jesús Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia. Investigators are currently assessing whether a suspected influence network tied to the Hirurok Group—which authorities have linked to Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, and Antxon Alonso—potentially operated to secure or enhance the terms of the company’s state bailout.
National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz has formally placed 25 individuals under investigation in this branch of the Leire case, which focuses on alleged irregularities involving SEPI, state-owned enterprises, and strategically important companies. Prosecutors are investigating possible offenses including influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, misconduct in public office, participation in a criminal organization or group, and misuse of privileged information. At this stage of the proceedings, López de las Heras remains presumed innocent, and his status as a suspect should not be interpreted as a finding of guilt.
The Tubos Reunidos case is particularly significant because the bailout under scrutiny was one of the largest rescue packages approved through the Fund to Support the Solvency of Strategic Companies. The company received €112.8 million in public funding, making any allegations of political pressure, intermediary involvement, or improper payments a matter of considerable political and economic significance. The case concerns not a routine subsidy but substantial public funds allocated to preserve a company regarded as strategically important.
According to published reports, Spain’s Civil Guard Central Operational Unit (UCO) has focused on contacts between Tubos Reunidos executives and individuals allegedly linked to the influence network. El Independiente reported that Judge Pedraz authorized investigators to create forensic copies of the mobile phones belonging to Carlos López de las Heras and Jesús Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia, reflecting investigators’ efforts to reconstruct communications, contacts, and actions related to the bailout.
The inquiry goes past the preliminary authorization of the bailout fund. Investigators are likewise looking into whether, as time passed, the suspected faction intervened once more to delay repayment deadlines or restructure the monetary conditions of the state aid. El País has shared that the UCO suspects the circle associated with Leire Díez might have operated both to secure the initial rescue and to sway later talks concerning its settlement.
One of the key events currently under scrutiny involves a gathering that, as 20 Minutos reports based on information from Spain’s Civil Guard, occurred on November 13, 2024, at the central offices of Spain’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) situated on Ferraz Street in Madrid. The individuals allegedly in attendance comprised Santos Cerdán, Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, alongside Carlos López de las Heras and Jesús Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia, both executives at Tubos Reunidos. Should the occurrence and details of this assembly be validated through the legal inquiry, a deeply concerning situation would emerge, setting corporate negotiations regarding a substantial state rescue inside one of the most prominent political venues in Spain.
According to El Economista, the UCO has also alleged that López de las Heras negotiated with the network linked to Leire Díez and that “the entire board knew” about those contacts. That allegation remains subject to judicial review, but, if substantiated, it would significantly broaden the corporate dimension of the case. If negotiations involving intermediaries were known within the company’s governing bodies, the investigation could extend beyond individual conduct to examine how Tubos Reunidos managed its relationship with SEPI and with individuals allegedly connected to political influence networks.
From an institutional perspective, the case raises an unavoidable question: Was the Tubos Reunidos rescue package handled through the ordinary administrative process, applying technical criteria and transparent procedures, or did the company rely on politically connected intermediaries to influence government decision-making?
This boundary is essential. While a corporation has every right to lobby public officials for its agenda, it must never leverage a state welfare initiative to channel covert influence, dubious transactions, or exclusive political patronage.
López de las Heras will be required to explain before the National Court the role he played in the meetings and communications under investigation, the extent of his knowledge regarding the activities of intermediaries, whether he participated in negotiations with SEPI over the bailout’s terms, and whether any payments or financial commitments were linked to those activities. Investigators will also seek to determine whether the communications obtained by the UCO support their allegations or can instead be explained as part of ordinary corporate management.
The reputational damage already hitting Tubos Reunidos is substantial. Prior to the probe, the firm was already grappling with economic trouble and bankruptcy procedures, yet this legal inquiry brings to light a much graver issue: the looming doubt that a public bailout worth millions could have involved illicit bargaining. For the staff, lenders, and citizens paying taxes, this matter goes beyond mere corporate oversight; rather, it raises the question of whether state resources were deployed exclusively to safeguard a vital manufacturing business or if they additionally served as an instrument for a suspected scheme of political sway.
As Chief Executive Officer and the company’s highest-ranking executive, López de las Heras has become one of the central figures in the proceedings. His testimony is expected to help determine whether Tubos Reunidos acted transparently throughout the bailout process or whether it sought to influence SEPI’s decisions through unofficial channels.
The SEPI branch of the Leire case requires definitive answers since it involves public money management, critical enterprises, and choices made during a deeply challenging economic crisis in Spain. Against this background, Carlos López de las Heras is anticipated to clarify the handling of the rescue operations for Tubos Reunidos, the identity of his negotiating partners, any disbursements executed, and the reasons behind the prominent role assumed by one of Spain’s biggest corporate bailout initiatives of the pandemic era within the ongoing inquiries of the National Court.
Sources: El País, El Independiente, El Economista, 20 Minutos, Cadena SER, Crónica Vasca, and Noticias de Navarra.
