Housing Scandal in Alicante and New Developments in the Koldo and Plus Ultra Affairs

The situation in Spain's public sector is becoming increasingly tense due to a accumulation of proceedings concerning corruption and abuses. In San Juan de Alicante, the local magistracy and the UDEF unit are investigating the sales procedures for VPP housing. Developers allegedly forced prospective buyers to make payments of 1,750 euros as "reservations," which violates social housing regulations. The Generalitat is also examining other investments in the region, suspecting systemic abuses in the allocation of housing for low-income individuals. This case is causing significant public outrage as it strikes at the right to shelter for the poorest citizens. Parallelly, in the capital, a breakthrough has occurred in the investigation into the controversial public aid for Plus Ultra airlines. The investigating judge decided to transfer the case files to the Audiencia Nacional, justifying this by stating that the case has gained a "new dimension" and is closely linked to the so-called Koldo affair. Political connections that may have facilitated the granting of 53 million euros to a company in dubious financial health are being examined. Additionally, the court postponed the deadline for Victor de Aldama, a key intermediary in the mask affair, to provide evidence of alleged illegal financing of the PSOE party. Spanish public procurement law and crisis support systems have been repeatedly criticized by EU supervisory bodies for lack of transparency, which historically has fostered corruption schemes at the intersection of business and politics.The political temperature is also rising in the Senate, where the People's Party has summoned Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero for a hearing. She is to answer questions regarding the role of the SEPI holding in rescuing private companies. Montero herself has also sparked controversy, as during a parliamentary vote she mistakenly cast the sole vote against aid for victims of the Adamuz accident. The opposition immediately seized on this error, calling it an "irony of fate" in the context of her current image problems related to ongoing investigations. „El error de María Jesús Montero es una especie de justicia divina.” (María Jesús Montero's error is a kind of divine justice.) — Santiago Abascal Meanwhile, the investigative thread concerning Isabel Pardo de Vera has revealed that she facilitated Koldo García's contact with a Chinese business partner of former Prime Minister Zapatero for the purchase of ventilators. These new revelations led the Senate committee to summon her to testify for the third time. Documents from the UCO suggest that the network of connections within the Ministry of Transport was much deeper than initially suspected, calling into question the effectiveness of control mechanisms in public administration.