EU investigates fraud in Spain rail funds after fatal Madrid crash

The European Union is investigating the possible misuse of EU funds earmarked for the renovation of a Spanish railway line where a train crash killed 69 people, prosecutors said on Friday.

The October accident on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line was one of the worst railway disasters in Europe this century, overshadowing Spain’s coming general election this month.

A similar investigation into the same stretch of track had already been opened in March in the wake of another accident that claimed 46 lives in the southern province of Andalusia, European prosecutors said.

“Today, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Madrid is conducting investigative measures at the Administrator of Railway Infrastructure, the State Railway Safety Agency and the Court of Auditors in Spain,” a statement from the EPPO said.

“This comes after the opening of an investigation into possible fraud affecting EU funds allocated to the renovation and upgrading of safety, signalling and communications systems on the Madrid-Seville high-speed railway line,” the EPPO added.

“This exceptional confirmation comes following high public interest and no further details will be made public at this stage.”

The Spanish police were supporting the investigation, the statement said.

Searches were conducted at all three offices, with the infrastructure operator confirming staff from the prosecutor’s ‌office went ‌to its headquarters. It said it supplied ‌all the information requested.

The safety agency and court of auditors did not immediately respond to requests for ⁠comment.

The accident happened when a train operated by the state-owned Renfe ploughed into the back of a stationary train belonging to the private Spanish company Iryo outside the village of Urda, around 130km (80 miles) south of Madrid on October 28.

An automatic safety system failure had halted all trains on a 63km stretch of track, but a control centre authorised the Renfe train to resume its journey, according to authorities.

Transport minister Oscar Puente quit on Tuesday, saying he felt he could not continue after the second major train crash in less than a year.

With the country heading for a national election on November 29, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday named economy minister Carlos Cuerpo as Puente’s temporary replacement.