A company convicted in Spain’s landmark aerial firefighting scandal, known as AVIALSA T-35, held contracts worth over €32 million with Cyprus’s Forestry Department.
- A company convicted in Spain's landmark aerial firefighting scandal, known as AVIALSA T-35, held contracts worth over €32 million with Cyprus's Forestry Department.
The firm, which rebranded as Titan Fire Fighting Company S.L. in 2019, was banned from public contracts by Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) in February 2025. This ruling stemmed from a long-running investigation revealing that a cartel had manipulated firefighting aviation tenders for nearly two decades.
Documents reviewed by Phileleftheros confirm that AVIALSA T-35 and Titan Fire Fighting Company S.L. are the same entity, sharing the same VAT number. This connection has raised serious concerns regarding the integrity of the contracts awarded in Cyprus.
Avialsa t-35: €32 Million in Contracts Over Four Years
Between 2020 and 2024, contracts totalling €32,194,500 were awarded to the rebranded company for aerial firefighting services. One significant contract, worth several million euros, was awarded in 2024, now under scrutiny in a criminal investigation initiated within Cyprus.
This investigation commenced in 2024, following an internal inquiry by the Agriculture Ministry led by Minister Maria Panayiotou. It focuses on the Forestry Department’s contracts for aerial firefighting services, with a department official becoming the chief suspect.
Controversial Tender Processes
In a 2022 procurement process, Titan Fire Fighting Company S.L. was awarded a contract for the lease of two firefighting aircraft, despite the bid exceeding the Department of Forests’ cost estimate by as much as 64.78%. Concerns were raised as the company did not meet the required number of pilots for the operation, yet the contract was nonetheless granted.
Additionally, a payment record indicated that the Department of Forests had paid AVIALSA €61,630, labelled as “Scholarships and Training Abroad,” raising further questions about the activities of the contracting authority.
Spain’s Landmark Ruling and its Implications
In February 2025, Spain’s National Court convicted 12 individuals for establishing a cartel that manipulated public firefighting aviation contracts from 2001 to 2018. Sentences ranged from six months to two years and three months. Among the convicted was a former government representative from Valencia, Serafín C., who received a one-year and nine-month sentence for bribery and embezzlement.
This ruling marked a significant moment in the fight against corruption, as the court imposed a ban on public contracts for several companies, including AVIALSA T-35. Notably, an Avialsa executive played a crucial role in exposing the cartel, providing evidence of price-fixing and market-sharing activities that spanned 15 years.
Ongoing Investigations in Cyprus
The Cyprus police investigation into the Forestry Department’s firefighting contracts is focused on three officials linked to companies that received substantial public funds. Investigators discovered that these individuals had connections to the awarded contracts, including the significant sum of €32,194,500 accumulated by one company.
Furthermore, there were findings of relatives of the officials involved owning companies that benefitted from lucrative state contracts, indicating a web of potential corruption that demands thorough examination.
