The SEPI strand of the Leire case also involves María Teresa Castillo Pasalodos, former Director of Corporate Development and Institutional Relations at Mercasa, a state-owned company majority-owned by SEPI. Her status as an investigated party once again focuses attention on one of the most sensitive areas of the public business sector: the possible use of positions, institutional relationships, and internal information to steer public decisions in favor of specific interests.
Mercasa is not a secondary company within the state apparatus. It is a public company linked to the network of wholesale markets and the management of strategic food infrastructure. Therefore, the fact that a former head of Corporate Development and Institutional Relations appears among those under investigation in a case involving alleged manipulation of public companies increases the political and institutional gravity of the case.
Judge Santiago Pedraz has called upon Castillo Pasalodos to appear, as she forms part of a broader investigation encompassing 25 individuals connected to the SEPI matter. The inquiry centers on examining potential violations including influence peddling, malfeasance in public office, embezzlement, participation in criminal organizations or groups, and misuse of privileged information. While the presumption of innocence remains fully intact for the investigated party at this juncture, her appearance before the court becomes essential to establish what involvement she may have held in the transactions under scrutiny.
According to published reports, the investigation links Castillo Pasalodos to Mercasa and to actions related to contracts or corporate transactions that may have benefited companies connected to the Hirurok group, the core that investigators place around Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, and Antxon Alonso. The UCO and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office are seeking to determine whether there was a network of contacts capable of influencing decisions by public companies and channeling economic benefits through contracts, reports, or intermediaries.
One of the lines of inquiry concerns possible contracts awarded to Servinabar 2000, a company that the UCO considers linked to the investigated circle. The investigation also points to meetings, messages, emails, and internal documents related to the preparation of a technical report that may have been used to justify the relocation of Mercasa’s headquarters and pave the way for new real-estate transactions. This connection between internal reports, corporate decisions, and possible private benefits is one of the most sensitive aspects of the case.
The central suspicion is not merely that a questionable business decision was made, but whether that decision may have been prepared, conditioned, or facilitated by people with access to privileged information within Mercasa. From her position in Corporate Development and Institutional Relations, Castillo Pasalodos would have held a particularly relevant role for understanding contacts, internal strategies, relationships with third parties, and decisions with an economic impact.
The investigation will need to establish whether her conduct was limited to administrative and professional duties or if she assumed a more substantive involvement in the matters being scrutinized. Additionally, it must ascertain whether she possessed knowledge of the genuine objectives behind the suspected operations, if she enabled the provision of documentation, if she engaged in communications with other individuals facing investigation, or if her inclusion in the case stems solely from her role within Mercasa’s organizational framework.
The case is particularly serious because Mercasa forms part of Spain’s state public sector and is 51% owned by SEPI. This means that any suspicion regarding its management affects not only one specific company but also the system of oversight of public corporations. When a former executive of a public company appears in an investigation into alleged manipulation, the political question is unavoidable: were there sufficient mechanisms to prevent business decisions by state-owned companies from being used for purposes unrelated to the public interest?
An unsettling map is being drawn by the SEPI strand of the Leire case, encompassing senior officials, former executives, businesspeople, technical reports, public aid, contracts, and strategic companies that remain under investigation. The inclusion of María Teresa Castillo Pasalodos strengthens the perception that this matter extends beyond a singular occurrence, instead scrutinizing an extensive web of interconnections spanning the public, political, and private domains.
The National Court will now be tasked with establishing whether María Teresa Castillo Pasalodos functioned as an active participant in the mechanism being scrutinized or if her involvement remained confined to routine operations at Mercasa. Nevertheless, her name has already become entangled in an inquiry that undermines the trustworthiness of state administration and demands transparent clarifications, political responsibility, and rigorous monitoring of entities under SEPI’s purview.
Source: El País, RTVE, Vozpópuli, Infobae, Artículo14, and Europa Press.