EU prosecutor launches new fraud probe into Spain's high-speed rail line
EU prosecutors opened a second probe into suspected fraud in EU funds for the Madrid–Seville high-speed rail, targeting safety/signaling upgrade spending, with actions at ADIF, the rail safety agency and Court of Auditors, after deadly Jan. and Oct. 28 crashes.
- World
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 05:24 PM 06 November 2026
The European Public Prosecutor's Office said Friday it had opened a second investigation into suspected fraud involving EU funds for Spain's Madrid-Seville high-speed railway, following a deadly crash last month.
The latest probe concerns funding for the renovation and upgrading of safety, signaling and communications systems on the line.
Investigative measures were being carried out at railway infrastructure manager ADIF, the State Railway Safety Agency and Spain's Court of Auditors, the prosecutor's office said.
The office said it was confirming the investigation due to significant public interest but would not disclose further details at this stage.
The investigation follows the Oct. 28 collision near Urda, in Toledo province, which killed 69 people. It was the second major disaster on the line this year, after a January collision near Adamuz, in southern Spain, killed 46.
A separate investigation was opened in March 2026 into suspected fraud involving maintenance of a section of track near Adamuz.
Spain's Transport Minister Oscar Puente resigned Tuesday, saying he could not remain in office after two accidents of such severity in less than a year. The president of ADIF also resigned this week.
Separately, former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, who served from 2018 to 2021, was sentenced in June to 24 years and three months in prison in a corruption case involving pandemic-era mask contracts.