The former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos has requested the Supreme Court that the president of the Congress and former president of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol, testify as a witness in the trial for the alleged irregularities in the purchase of masks during the pandemic, within the so-called Koldo case. The request focuses on the acquisitions made by the Balearic Islands when Armengol was president of the autonomous Executive.
According to a written statement accessed by Europa Press, Ábalos demands the appearance of Armengol for the purchases of health material made by the Balearic Government, considering that they are relevant to prove that the procedures followed during the health emergency were in accordance with the legal framework enabled in that exceptional context.
The former minister, who has been in custody since November, defends his innocence and maintains that the facts for which he will be tried “do not constitute a crime”, stressing that the decisions taken during the pandemic responded to an unprecedented emergency situation.
Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and Ministry of the Interior
In the same document, Ábalos requests that the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, also testify as witnesses for the purchases of masks made by the Ministry of the Interior and by the Government of the Canary Islands, the community that Torres presided at the time.
The defense considers that the appearance of these political leaders will allow to contextualize the decisions taken by different public administrations, understanding that the criteria followed were similar throughout the State during the health crisis.
The Supreme Court indicts Ábalos for conspiracy to obtain contracts
The examining magistrate of the Supreme Court, Leopoldo Puente, agreed to prosecute Ábalos, his former advisor Koldo García and the businessman Víctor de Aldama, as he found evidence that they “concerted” to take advantage of the influence of the then minister in order to obtain economic benefits through public contracts.
According to the court order, the investigated parties would have tried to benefit from the awarding of contracts in the field of public administration, as well as from other economic opportunities derived from their position and institutional relations.
Puente agreed to divide the case into two parts: a main one focused on the mask contracts and a separate one on the alleged scheme of collecting commissions in exchange for public works.
The prosecution requests 24 years in prison for Ábalos, 19 and a half years for Koldo García and seven years for Víctor de Aldama, while the popular accusations, led by the PP, demand up to 30 years in prison for the former minister and his former advisor.
An expert opinion against the audit commissioned by Óscar Puente
In addition to the list of witnesses, Ábalos has submitted an expert report to refute the audit commissioned by the current Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, after the case was uncovered. In this document, the former minister highlights that the Court of Auditors already carried out in 2022 an exhaustive analysis of the awarding of masks.
According to the expert opinion, the purchase from the company Soluciones de Gestión, linked to Víctor de Aldama, was made in accordance with current legislation in the context of the exceptional situation caused by the pandemic, and the price of the masks was below the market average.
Ábalos also questions the reliability of the report commissioned by Puente, considering that it lacks independence, objectivity and sufficient evidence, and denounces the existence of biases and subjective assessments that, in his opinion, compromise its conclusions.
