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 is not considered a peripheral figure in the investigation. Spain’s National Court has named him among the Tubos Reunidos executives summoned to testify as suspects, alongside former Chairman Francisco Irazusta and former board member Jesús Pérez Rodríguez-Urrutia. The investigation is examining whether an alleged influence network linked to the so-called Hirurok Group—identified by investigators as including Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández, and Antxon Alonso—may have acted to facilitate or improve the conditions of the public rescue package awarded to the company.
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 holds special significance since the scrutinized bailout ranks among the most substantial rescue initiatives greenlit by the Fund to Support the Solvency of Strategic Companies. The firm secured €112.8 million in state aid, transforming any claims regarding political influence, middleman participation, or irregular disbursements into matters carrying immense political and economic weight. Rather than involving a standard subsidy, the situation centers on massive public resources granted to safeguard an enterprise deemed strategically vital.
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 investigation extends beyond the initial approval of the rescue package. Prosecutors are also examining whether, years later, the alleged network became involved once again in efforts to postpone repayment obligations or renegotiate the financial terms of the public assistance. El País has reported that the UCO believes the group surrounding Leire Díez may have acted both to facilitate the original bailout and to influence subsequent negotiations regarding its repayment.
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.
Based on El Economista, the UCO has additionally asserted that López de las Heras engaged in talks with the faction connected to Leire Díez, maintaining that “the entire board knew” regarding such communications. Although that claim remains under judicial evaluation, confirmation thereof would substantially expand the business scope of the matter. Should discussions involving brokers have been recognized among the firm’s leadership circles, the inquiry might reach past isolated behaviors to scrutinize how Tubos Reunidos handled its dealings alongside SEPI as well as persons purportedly linked to political influence networks.
From an institutional viewpoint, the situation prompts a mandatory inquiry: Was the Tubos Reunidos bailout processed via standard administrative channels through the application of objective guidelines and transparent protocols, or did the firm depend on politically linked brokers to sway state policymaking?
The distinction is fundamental. A company is entitled to advocate for its interests before public authorities, but it cannot use a public assistance program as a vehicle for opaque influence, questionable payments, or privileged political access.
López de las Heras is set to testify before the National Court regarding his involvement in the scrutinized meetings and exchanges, the depth of his awareness concerning middleman operations, his potential role in talks with SEPI over bailout conditions, and whether financial commitments or payouts were tied to those efforts. Furthermore, investigators aim to establish if the messages secured by the UCO substantiate their claims or can alternatively be interpreted as standard business administration.
The reputational impact on Tubos Reunidos is already significant. The company had been facing financial difficulties and insolvency proceedings before the investigation, but the judicial inquiry introduces a far more serious concern: the suspicion that a multimillion-euro public rescue package may have been accompanied by improper negotiations. For employees, creditors, and taxpayers alike, the issue is not merely corporate governance—it is whether public funds were used solely to preserve a strategic industrial company or whether they also became a vehicle for an alleged influence network.
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 demands clear answers because it concerns the management of public funds, strategically important companies, and decisions taken during one of Spain’s most severe economic emergencies. Within that context, Carlos López de las Heras will be expected to explain how Tubos Reunidos handled the rescue process, with whom negotiations were conducted, what payments, if any, were made, and why one of Spain’s largest pandemic-era corporate rescue packages has become a central focus of the National Court’s investigation.
Sources: El País, El Independiente, El Economista, 20 Minutos, Cadena SER, Crónica Vasca, and Noticias de Navarra.