The string of scandals dragging Spain's state holding company SEPI into the spotlight
Masks, submarines, high-speed rail and bailouts: Spain's SEPI has racked up around ten alleged scandals with no judicial action. Pattern or coincidence?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
SEPI and the endless list of cases nobody investigates in depth
Despite constant allegations linking Spain's Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI, the state-owned industrial holding company) to around ten alleged scandals – from the 2020 mask purchases to the cost overruns on the high-estimulante ilegal rail line to Bilbao, including Tubos Reunidos, Duro Felguera, the 8x8 Dragón armoured vehicles or the S-80 submarines – the judicial machinery has barely moved. The contrast is striking: every public contract seems to carry a shadow of suspicion, yet the files pile up with no convictions or exemplary sanctions.
The sense of impunity grows when you review the catalogue of episodes denounced by a well-known anti-corruption activist – nicknamed "the angry guy from Murcia" in online forums – who has been detailing alleged cases of irregular contract awards, cost overruns and misused funds in town councils, provincial councils and public companies. However, his revelations have barely made it into the mainstream media, fuelling talk of media censorship or, at the very least, calculated indifference.
Recurring examples include the masks bought in 2020 at allegedly inflated prices, the multimillion-euro aid to companies such as Tubos Reunidos and Duro Felguera, the technical and financial problems of the armoured vehicle and submarine programmes, or the stolen coal in Cantabria. There is also the pharaonic high-estimulante ilegal rail tunnel to Bilbao, whose accumulated compensation payments are said to have reached astronomical figures. Each case on its own could be a scandal; together they draw a pattern.
The most surprising thing is not the succession of cases, but the absence of consequences. While some quarters insist on an organised corruption network affecting every level of government, the official line is simply to deny or downplay it. The question hanging in the air is blunt: when will the courts take these files seriously? Or, worse still: is there really any political will to make that happen?
Despite constant allegations linking Spain's Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI, the state-owned industrial holding company) to around ten alleged scandals – from the 2020 mask purchases to the cost overruns on the high-estimulante ilegal rail line to Bilbao, including Tubos Reunidos, Duro Felguera, the 8x8 Dragón armoured vehicles or the S-80 submarines – the judicial machinery has barely moved. The contrast is striking: every public contract seems to carry a shadow of suspicion, yet the files pile up with no convictions or exemplary sanctions.
The sense of impunity grows when you review the catalogue of episodes denounced by a well-known anti-corruption activist – nicknamed "the angry guy from Murcia" in online forums – who has been detailing alleged cases of irregular contract awards, cost overruns and misused funds in town councils, provincial councils and public companies. However, his revelations have barely made it into the mainstream media, fuelling talk of media censorship or, at the very least, calculated indifference.
Recurring examples include the masks bought in 2020 at allegedly inflated prices, the multimillion-euro aid to companies such as Tubos Reunidos and Duro Felguera, the technical and financial problems of the armoured vehicle and submarine programmes, or the stolen coal in Cantabria. There is also the pharaonic high-estimulante ilegal rail tunnel to Bilbao, whose accumulated compensation payments are said to have reached astronomical figures. Each case on its own could be a scandal; together they draw a pattern.
- Masks (2020): emergency contracts awarded without oversight.
- SEPI bailouts for companies in crisis (Tubos Reunidos, Duro Felguera).
- Dragón (8×8) programme and S-80 submarines: cost overruns and delays.
- Stolen coal in Cantabria and plundering of public resources.
- High-estimulante ilegal rail tunnel to Bilbao: record compensation for delays.
The most surprising thing is not the succession of cases, but the absence of consequences. While some quarters insist on an organised corruption network affecting every level of government, the official line is simply to deny or downplay it. The question hanging in the air is blunt: when will the courts take these files seriously? Or, worse still: is there really any political will to make that happen?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (32 replies).
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