Mallorca financier arrested in Plus Ultra probe

Police in Germany arrested Mallorca resident Simon Leendert Verhoeven on 23 September in the Plus Ultra money-laundering investigation. The Dutch financier is alleged to have run a network that handled illicit funds. He is expected to appear before Spain’s Audiencia Nacional, the National Court, this week.

Europa Press

The arrest followed a European Arrest Warrant issued by Court 2 of the Investigating Section of the Tribunal Central de Instancia. Investigators are examining an alleged laundering network operating in Spain, France and Switzerland.

Judge José Luis Calama is leading the inquiry, drawing on reports from the Spanish police’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit, known as UDEF. The investigation describes Verhoeven as the alleged manager of the network. Rodolfo Reyes, a former Plus Ultra board member, is described as an alleged client.

The case also examines the suspected fraudulent use of funds linked to Plus Ultra. The airline received government support worth €53 million in March 2021, during the pandemic.

Investigators believe the alleged criminal group controlled “very significant” sums of money and obscured where it came from. Former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is also under investigation as the alleged leader of an influence-peddling network.

Mallorca financier arrested in Plus Ultra money probe