Key facts
- The EPPO is investigating possible fraud in EU funds for safety, signaling and communications upgrades on the Madrid-Seville line.
- Searches on November 6 covered Adif, the State Railway Safety Agency and the Spanish Court of Auditors.
- The EPPO did not clarify what investigators are looking for or whether any money was misspent.
- A first EPPO probe, opened in March, covered EU funds for track maintenance on the same line after the Adamuz crash.
- Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo is running the Transport Ministry until the November 29 election.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible fraud involving EU funds for safety, signaling and communications upgrades on Spain's Madrid-Seville high-speed railway, the line where 69 people were killed in a collision near Urda, in Toledo province, on October 28.
Investigators for the EPPO carried out searches on Friday at Adif, the state rail infrastructure manager, the State Railway Safety Agency and the Spanish Court of Auditors, with support from national authorities. The EPPO did not clarify what investigators are looking for or whether any money was misspent, and no findings have been made public. It said no further details would be released at this stage.
A first probe, opened in March after the Adamuz crash that killed 46 people, covered EU funds for track maintenance on the same line. There has been no public update on its progress.
Óscar Puente, who has since resigned as transport minister, said a computer failure followed by human error caused the crash. Puente resigned on Tuesday, calling his decision "a matter of political dignity," while Adif President Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña quit on Wednesday, less than 24 hours later. Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo is running the Transport Ministry until the November 29 election.
EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas expressed deep concern at a press briefing on Wednesday over two serious accidents in Spain within a year, calling them "very worrying" and "definitely not something we want to see." He noted that Spain had reached out to the EU's railway agency, ERA, to assist with the ongoing national investigation.
The crash took place just weeks before the vote, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialists already trailing in the polls and facing further political fallout over the tragedy.