Abalos' son to the Supreme Court: "My father's economic situation is lamentable"

MadridFirst session of the first trial of the Koldo case. Throughout April, the Supreme Court will try José Luis Ábalos, Koldo García, and Víctor de Aldama for the purchase of masks during the pandemic, for influence peddling, and for political favors. One of the highlights of the first day was Víctor Ábalos, the son of the former Minister of Transport and former number three of the PSOE. "What is your father's financial situation since the start of the proceedings?", Marino Turiel, Ábalos's lawyer, asked him. "Lamentable, like the whole family's," he replied. He stated that he provided financial support to his father after the divorce and justified accepting recent television appearances by the income they generated. Likewise, he assured that the money he gave the former minister came from his work in Colombia and distanced himself from managing his father's money: "If I gave him money, it would be mine. There is no payment of any kind. [...] I am not a custodian of anything for anyone," he stressed. He also denied any dealings with Koldo García: "I don't speak in code and I haven't had an encrypted phone."

The following two witnesses refused to answer the questions of the Prosecutor's Office and the PP, which is involved as a popular accusation. They were Ignacio Díaz Tapia, who was a partner of Aldama, and Joseba García, Koldo's brother. Both are under investigation for the Koldo case in the National Court. The first appeared accompanied by his lawyer and did not answer any questions, and the second, who even refused to answer who his mother was, referred to the recommendation of his lawyer, the same one who defends his brother: "If she advises me, it must be for a reason, [but] I am eager to answer." He did, however, answer extensively to his lawyer's questions.

First, he distanced himself from the hiring of Jéssica Rodríguez at INECO. "I have never been anyone's boss, I was a work colleague," he said. And he recalled a message in which she told him that she was "up to her eyeballs" with work. Later, he explained that the eight meetings he had with Aldama, which the Civil Guard claims were to divide money, were actually the result of the claims he made to him after buying a car from him: "It's the worst purchase I've ever made in my life. I asked him to return my money and he stalled me. I had to get rid of the vehicle as if it were scrap metal," he lamented. Finally, he spoke about the two trips he made to the Dominican Republic. The Prosecutor's Office believes they were to receive envelopes of money that Aldama would later deliver to Koldo and Ábalos. The ex-advisor's brother explained that he traveled to the other side of the Atlantic for business and because he was dating a Dominican girl. He collected an envelope on the other side of the country and later delivered it – in Spain – to Aldama's driver. But he never knew what it contained.

Before the in-person testimonies began, the two written reports submitted by Francina Armengol, who was president of the Balearic Islands and is now president of Congress, and Ángel Víctor Torres, who was president of the Canary Islands and is now Minister of Territorial Policy, were read. Both were exempt from testifying in person. Armengol stated that she "was unaware" of the processing of the administrative files and categorically denied that she intervened in the purchase of masks: "I never received an order or pressure to enter into any contract nor did I know that anyone received orders to contract specific suppliers." For his part, Ángel Víctor Torres admitted that, amid the "global uncertainty," the fact that Soluciones de Gestión had sold masks to the Ministry of Transport was a "positive reference." He acknowledged that he "followed up" on the file, but assured that he gave "no order" to benefit the company.

During the hearing, Leticia de la Hoz, Koldo García's lawyer, desperately asked for the trial to be suspended because Ábalos's former advisor filed a writ of amparo with the Constitutional Court, alleging that his rights have been violated, but the court has shut the door on him. Early on, in an audio message sent to Telecinco, Koldo García called Víctor de Aldama a "fool" and a "liar", said that he "invents evidence" and warned that he can "blow up the trial" with "other evidence" he will present.