Mallorca financier denies Plus Ultra bailout laundering

Mallorca-based financier Simon Leendert Verhoeven tells a Madrid judge on Friday, 16 October, that he knew nothing about the Spanish government’s €53 million rescue of Plus Ultra during the pandemic. The Dutch businessman denies laundering money from the airline’s bailout. He is under investigation in a case that also involves former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Loans, signatures and a Mallorca search

Verhoeven says he signed five loans with Plus Ultra worth more than €2 million and denies anything was wrong with the deals. But he does not recognise his signature on the contracts the airline has submitted in this case, according to legal sources. He does recognise it on a separate set of contracts being examined in Switzerland.

Police seized watches, jewellery and gold bars from his Mallorca home last October. Verhoeven says they came from lawful business activities. He says he is the majority shareholder in three companies — one in Gibraltar and two in the United Kingdom — involved in trading, precious metals and property.

What investigators are examining

Investigators suspect Verhoeven helped a money-laundering network produce false invoices through international companies. They allege that money from the bailout ended up in opaque bank accounts in Gibraltar, Switzerland, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and Mauritius. Verhoeven is also under investigation on suspicion of misappropriation, influence peddling and membership of a criminal organisation.

After his arrest in Germany last month, Verhoeven was transferred to Spain and held at Soto del Real prison near Madrid. Judge José Luis Calama later released him, but took his passport, barred him from leaving Spain and ordered him to report to court every two days.

Topics: Court cases · Police

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com