The Civil Guard searches Ábalos's home in Valencia: "I'm not worried."

MadridThe Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard searched the home of former Socialist minister José Luis Ábalos in Valencia for more than nine hours on Tuesday. The search of the home of the now deputy of the mixed group, ordered by Judge Leopoldo Puente, is part of the investigation opened against him in the Supreme Court for the Koldo case, involving alleged cash and in-kind commissions in exchange for contracts for medical supplies and public works during the pandemic. Civil Guard sources specified that the investigation falls under a separate, secret file.

According to legal sources who spoke to the Efe news agency, the agents from the armed forces were seeking documentation on civil works contracts that would be related to some of the alleged commissions referred to by Víctor de Aldama, another of those investigated and considered the "corrupting link" of the plot, which allegedly involved pre-awarded contracts to construction companies. The action ordered by Puente came after the magistrate received a report from the UCO (Central University of Catalonia) on June 5, stating that there were sufficient grounds to believe that Ábalos had been involved in "unfair procurement" in exchange for a "certain financial benefit." Sources cited by Efe explain that, in parallel, information has also been requested from companies. "I'm not worried," Ábalos stated at the door of his home after the search was completed. The officers seized several digital memory cards and cloned the former minister's cell phone, he explained.

Puente's investigation and the UCO reports suggest that Aldama paid these alleged commissions in exchange for Ábalos and his former advisor at the Ministry of Transport, Koldo García, who is also under investigation, interceding in the concessions for companies linked to the businessman. This is the first time the Civil Guard has searched a property belonging to the former minister and former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). The UCO did search Koldo's home more than a year ago. The Supreme Court is investigating them for alleged crimes of organized crime, influence peddling, and bribery.

"There are more suspicions than clues," Ábalos asserted, explaining that the documentation seized by the UCO "contains nothing" beyond intimate information. The former Minister of Transport explained that he showed "absolute cooperation" during this "delicate" day. The entry into the home of the former secretary of socialist organization took place seven months after the Supreme Court opened the case against him.

The alleged commissions

In his statement as a suspect before Puente Ábalos denied having charged commissions and contradicted Aldama's version, which had claimed that Ábalos, Koldo, and also the PSOE benefited from alleged compensation. However, the Civil Guard investigation suggests that the plot allegedly covered, among other things, the cost of renting an apartment in Madrid—he allegedly contributed more than 80,000 euros. Rodríguez, or the rental of a villa in Cádiz for the former minister. A new report from the UCO also indicated that Aldama allegedly paid for a vacation in Marbella for the former Minister of Transport in exchange for promoting the rescue of Air Europa.