A contract signed on January 17, 2020, a few weeks before the declaration of the state of alarm, is the reason why Pedro Sánchez has decided to “stop and reflect”. It was a collaboration agreement signed between the IE Africa Center of Begoña Gómez, then director of the institution that belongs to the Business Institute, and a subsidiary of Globalia, a group of which Air Europa is still part.
The collaboration was never developed, but a court in Madrid yesterday opened proceedings against the wife of the President of the Central Government following a complaint filed by the far-right union Manos Limpias. La Vanguardia has reconstructed what that relationship was like between the wife of the head of the Executive and the airline.
It all started in Russia. Saint Petersburg. Year 2019, electoral period. A subsidiary of Globalia called Wakalua, and dubbed “the first global hub of innovation in tourism”, attended a UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) congress. In the Russian city, the company’s managers met Gómez, Sánchez’s wife, who traveled to the tourist event on behalf of the IE Africa Center. In Saint Petersburg they signed a collaboration agreement for a very specific project. The contract was signed on the aforementioned 17 January 2020. The aim was to grant scholarships to winners of a competition for emerging African companies. The amount: 25,000 euros in scholarships and 15,000 more in “representation expenses”.
Using these expenses, Wakalua and the IE Africa Center agreed to purchase two plane tickets between Madrid and London to attend a tourism congress that cost 1,716.53 euros, round trip, with Air Europa. One of those plane tickets was used by Gómez, the sources consulted explain, on March 4, 2020. Beyond this disbursement, the contract was never developed. No other euro was used.
Days after the trip to London, Sánchez announced the state of alarm and the confinement of the entire population. That Easter he decreed the closure of the economy to stop the contagion of covid. This situation directly affected Air Europa, which turned to the Government to be rescued.
The alternative, according to airline sources, was bankruptcy. The company had no money to pay payroll. For this reason, he required public assistance and received 475 million in two loans: a participatory one of 240 million and another ordinary one of 235 million. The participative, in which SEPI is involved, has interests of 7.5%. If the company makes a profit, 1% will go to the Treasury. The airline has already paid 66 million in interest alone.
Air Europa and the Presidency of the Government defend that the public loan has nothing to do with the contract between the IE Africa Center and the Globalia subsidiary. The aid was negotiated directly with the vice president of SEPI and the advisory board. They also learned about the process with the State Attorney’s Office and Cuatrecasas and PwC. Air Europa even issued a statement denying all the allegations.
After the pandemic, Globalia and the IE Africa Center again discussed more agreements. They started working on a repopulation project called “Hola, Poble”, which was also never developed.
Begoña Gómez and the CEO of Globalia, Javier Hidalgo, met in Saint Petersburg. They then had two meetings: one at the 2020 edition of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur), which is held in Madrid, and another at the company’s headquarters, in Pozuelo de Alarcón. No progress was made in further collaborations. In none of these meetings was the rescue of Air Europa addressed, these sources claim.
Air Europa still has 206 million retained in Venezuela, a conflict that dates back to 2012 and 2013. Since then, the company has been trying to recover this money using any legal means, even resorting to executors. Years ago, Víctor de Aldama, involved in the Koldo case, was presented to the company and told them that he could recover those amounts. They agreed a commission of 5 million. He never got to collect it because the company continues to claim that money from Venezuela.
