European prosecution investigates whether there was embezzlement in Adamuz rail works
The EU body traces the use of 111 million euros of Feder funds during the renewal of the tracks in 2025
The European prosecution is investigating whether there was a fraudulent use of EU Feder funds during the high-speed rail upgrades between Madrid and Seville in 2025. The focus of the investigation is on the Adamuz section, where two trains crashed on 18 January this year, killing 46 people.
The EU body is tracing the destination and management of more than 111 million euros. The European Commission approved this aid on 25 June 2024, earmarking it for the "replacement of rails and sleepers".
The European prosecution joins the investigation as a result of the EU's involvement in sponsoring the upgrades. According to sources close to the case, the EU body will determine whether there was a misappropriation of public funds and fraud. There are reportedly indications that the works and finance management did not correspond to standards.
One of the main hypotheses for the derailment of one of the trains focuses on a possibly defective weld that joined tracks from 1989 with tracks from 2023. Minister of Transport Óscar Puente has stated on several occasions that workers had completely renewed the section in 2025.
The European prosecution's investigation is independent of the investigation of the court of Montoro, which is in charge of determining the technical causes and criminal liability for the accident. The opening of the European case, however, introduces a new legal scenario that points directly to the management of resources.
Two of the seven prosecutors who make up the Spanish delegation of the European prosecution are analysing the documentation collected from state rail infrastructure company Adif, the directorate general of European funds and Montoro's own court.
The Montoro judge is waiting the definitive dump of the black boxes and the expert analysis of the rail to complete the picture of responsibilities of the biggest crisis of the high-speed system in Spain.
The investigation at national level has been mired in controversy following reports by the Guardia Civil that "Adif had removed key material for the investigation from the area of the accident without judicial authorisation".
