The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has requested this Thursday pre-trial detention without bail for former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García, considering that there is a risk of flight in both cases.
The request was formulated during the hearing held at the Supreme Court, prior to the opening of the oral trial for the alleged scheme of commissions linked to the purchase of masks during the first months of the pandemic.
In addition to Ábalos and García, the proceedings also affect the businessman Víctor de Aldama, implicated in the alleged collection of kickbacks in exchange for contracts with the public administration. The final decision on the precautionary measures is now in the hands of the examining magistrate, Leopoldo Puente.
Ábalos assures that he has no means to abscond and denounces political motivation
During the hearing, the defense of the former minister tried to stop his imprisonment, alleging his personal roots, his status as a deputy and the absence of economic means that would allow him to flee. Ábalos himself, in declarations to Cadena SER, rejected the request of the Prosecutor’s Office and described it as a “political decision”, insinuating that it seeks to pressure him to collaborate.
At the close of the session on Ábalos, the hearing to study the precautionary measures against Koldo García began at 12:30 p.m., with the Prosecutor’s Office maintaining the same position: provisional imprisonment without bail.
Prosecution: offenses under investigation and sentencing requests
The vistillas are held after the order in which the instructor processed those investigated for their alleged involvement in the first part of the Koldo case. This branch of the case focuses on the contracts for the supply of masks awarded during the health emergency by Covid-19.
According to the order, the crimes attributed are bribery, criminal organization, influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
Based on these facts, the Prosecutor’s Office has requested much higher sentences than those initially considered:
-
24 years in prison for José Luis Ábalos
-
19 years for Koldo García
-
7 years for businessman Victor de Aldama
The popular accusations, led by the Popular Party, go further and ask for 30 years in prison for both Ábalos and García, while maintaining the 7 years for Aldama.
The role of the company Soluciones Gestión and the origin of the plot
The core of the accusation lies in the contracts awarded in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Victor de Aldama’s company, Soluciones Gestión, obtained millionaire contracts with Puertos del Estado (8 million masks) and ADIF (another 5 million) based on an order signed by the then Minister Ábalos.
The prosecution argues that Aldama gained access to the former minister’s entourage thanks to a personal contact: his brother had worked as Ábalos’ bodyguard. From there, according to the indictment, the three investigated would have built a relationship aimed at obtaining economic benefits taking advantage of the institutional position of the minister.
The story of the Public Prosecutor’s Office points to an agreement between the three implicated parties to favor Aldama’s company in contracts with the Administration in exchange for commissions distributed among all of them.
