The five dimensions of the Koldo case: straddling the Supreme Court and the National Court

MadridThe 180 meters separating the Supreme Court from the National Court have never seemed so short. Last Thursday, while José Luis Ábalos faced the possibility of being sent to prison by Leopoldo Puente in the case concerning the purchase of face masks – as It ended up happening—Víctor de Aldama testified before Ismael Moreno regarding contracts awarded by the Canary Islands government during the pandemic; an alleged corruption scheme that has led to multiple parallel investigations with interconnected links. So much so, that even the lawyers involved are still unclear about the number of ongoing cases and their scope. We're taking it one step at a time.

The Ábalos and Koldo scheme in the Supreme Court

Ábalos and Koldo are in pretrial detention at Soto del Real prison because the judge believes that the fact that the trial is "foreseeably very soon" creates an "extreme" risk of flight. They are one step away from standing trial because the investigating judge believes that De Aldama made "successive" payments to them to "benefit from the influence" of the then-minister in order to "obtain public contracts." The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office asks twenty-four years in prison for Ábalos and nineteen and a half years for Koldo.

The starting point of this investigation was the purchase by Adif and Puertos del Estado of face masks from Soluciones de Gestión, the company at the epicenter of the alleged scheme, in exchange for an "undue financial compensation" that De Aldama paid to Ábalos and Koldo, taking advantage of their "personal relationship." However, this case has ended up including other events: the "arbitrary" hiring in public companies of Jessica Rodriguez and Claudia Montes – who were partners of Ábalos –, the hydrocarbon license for Villafuel – in exchange for a villa on the coast of Cádiz –, the deferral of a tax debt of a company of Víctor de Aldama and the preparation of mobility certificates during the confinement for fictitious meetings.

Cerdán case in the Supreme Court

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also investigating the case concerning the "improper awarding of public works contracts," in which, apart from Ábalos and Koldo, Santos Cerdán is also under investigation. He spent almost five months in prison.In this case, the prospect of a trial is further off. The former number 3 of the PSOE until last June He was imprisoned because the instructor considered that there was a risk that he would destroy evidence, and it wasn't until that danger was "seriously mitigated", after the Civil Guard will register several Acciona locations...that the magistrate released him.

Here, apart from Ábalos, Koldo, and Cerdán, there are eight businessmen under investigation. First, the five he charged in June, including Antxon Alonso, the owner of Servinabar. And then, the three linked to Acciona –who are summoned to testify on Wednesday– that he charged a few days ago after learning of the Civil Guard report that Cerdán was positioned as the "liaison" between the Ministry of Transport and Acciona.

The Adif and Highways case in the National Court

The UCO report on Cerdán, commissioned by the Supreme Court, resonated in the National Court. Judge Puente urged Judge Moreno to investigate, on his own, Isabel Pardo de Vera – former president of Adif – and Javier Herrero – former director general of Highways – alleging that they may have "assisted" Ábalos to ensure that the allegedly irregular contracts were "successful." He considered that the cases could be separated because they involved "instrumental or accessory" conduct, and subsequently, the National Court opened a new investigation. However, sources from Cerdán's defense believe this roadmap creates a situation of legal defenselessness: "It makes no sense for things to be investigated in two courts," they say at the ARA (Aragonese Association of Lawyers). And they complain that the judge himself refused to provide them with all the information held by the National Court, arguing, precisely, that both proceedings, despite having "a certain connection," have a "different purpose." The same voices denounce it as a "major anomaly".

It should also be noted that Judge Moreno of the National Court is also investigating Pardo de Vera's "decisive participation" in the "irregular and arbitrary" hiring of Jéssica Rodríguez—which is also part of the Supreme Court case.

The case of the Canary Islands government in the National Court

There is another branch investigating the purchase of masks and medical supplies from Soluciones de Gestión by the Canary and Balearic governments, as well as by Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager) and Puertos del Estado (the Spanish port authority). In fact, it is the original investigation from which all subsequent investigations have stemmed. This duplication has led Koldo's defense to claim that he is being investigated by both judges for events with a "substantial overlap" and that these events are "inextricably linked."

It is in this case that De Aldama has pointed the finger at another minister: the current Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres; an accusation corroborated by the UCO (Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard): the Civil Guard believes that De Aldama may have had "influence" in the Canary Islands government, once presided over by Torres, through Koldo, to facilitate the purchase of face masks. Currently, there are more than twenty people under investigation, including—besides Koldo and De Aldama—Koldo's brother and wife, Rubén Villalba (a Civil Guard officer), businessmen Juan Carlos Cueto and Íñigo Rotaeche, as well as Álvaro Sánchez Manzanares and Jesús Manuel Góz, who were dismissed by Óscar Puente months ago.

Cash payments from the PSOE

Finally, twenty days ago, the National Court also He opened a separate investigation Regarding the cash payments from the PSOE to Ábalos and Koldo, after the Supreme Court urged him to "investigate" the "unknowns" that had arisen about the use of cash at the party headquarters on Ferraz Street. The latest development was the judge's request to Pedro Sánchez's party that send him information of all these cash payments and the documents that prove them between 2017 and 2024.