The Supreme Court proposes to try Ábalos, Koldo and Aldama for the mask contracts

Madrid / BarcelonaJosé Luis Ábalos, Koldo García, and Víctor de Aldama are on the verge of trial in one branch of the Supreme Court investigation. The investigating judge, Leopoldo Puente, has proposed trying them for bribery, organized crime, influence peddling, and embezzlement. In a ruling issued this Monday, the magistrate made this decision regarding the initial part of the alleged corruption scheme, related to mask contracts during the pandemic. Puente brings to a close the investigation into the alleged irregular commissions obtained through Aldama by the former Minister of Transport and his former advisor, while the part of the investigation involving the former number three of the party, Santos Cerdán, and public works contracts remains open. The magistrate now gives the parties ten days to request either that a trial be opened, that the case be dismissed, or that further investigative measures be carried out. Puente's decision comes just days after that would propose to the National Court to open another branch of the case related to the financing of the PSOE Given suspicions that the party has made cash payments to Ábalos and Koldo for expenses, the National Court, at the magistrate's request, will assess whether there is sufficient evidence to investigate their accounts.

Regarding the mask contracts for which Judge Puente is prosecuting the three defendants, the court order states that there is "strong evidence" that Aldama made "successive" payments of money to Ábalos and Koldo "with the purpose of inducing them to perform acts contrary to the duties inherent to their respective public offices." "Equally strong, of course, are the indications that they received these payments in execution of the criminal scheme that united them all and as compensation for these disloyal acts," Puente says. The scheme operated through a division of roles among the three defendants, according to the judge. Ábalos distributed the contracts among entities linked to the Ministry of Transport that were in a good financial position, such as State Ports—which purchased eight million masks—or Adif—which purchased five million. Outside the ministry, Aldama was responsible for locating companies or individuals willing "to make the corresponding payments to contact or contract with the administration," and for distributing the profits. Koldo García, for his part, took advantage of his position as advisor to the minister and "the minister's absolute trust" to carry out the behind-the-scenes dealings; Ábalos's entry into the scene was reserved for moments when his signature or direct influence was "indispensable," due to his role within the Spanish government. Given all this, the judge concludes that it is not "entirely out of the question" that the former PSOE organizing secretary (and still a member of Congress) was unaware of the conspiracy. The Ports Contract

The investigating judge cites as an example the ministerial order that Ábalos signed on March 20, 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, instructing State Ports to purchase medical supplies. Initially, the order was for four million masks, but half an hour later, and "at Aldama's insistence," this amount was doubled. Aldama was found in possession of an Excel spreadsheet detailing the operation's expenses, which included two million euros corresponding to El Gran. The judge believes this entry refers to the money Ábalos wanted to receive for the corrupt transaction. Koldo allegedly demanded half a million euros, an amount listed in the Excel spreadsheet under the heading "Gobblins house."

In this way, Aldama allegedly paid Koldo €10,000 per month from October 2019 until at least 2021. If the businessman didn't have cash, the payments were made in the Dominican Republic. In fact, the investigation has established that Koldo García's brother, Joseba García, traveled to that country at least twice to collect approximately $10,000.

The "unjustified" income

The investigating judge notes that the investigation into the assets of García and Ábalos supports the theory of illegal commission payments, given that both benefited from "unjustified" income, much of it in cash. The judge points to the financial "connections" between the two: Koldo García even covered his boss's personal expenses, such as gifts to lovers and child support payments, as well as donations to a foundation and payments to an employee. All of this adds up to almost 95,000 euros, according to the Central Operational Unit (UCO). There is no record that Ábalos ever repaid his former right-hand man in any way via bank transfer. "Had the payment been in cash, the origin of that money would be fully consistent with the existence of an irregular source of income that directly links to De Aldama's statements," the judge states in his report.

Another open front is the one concerning the Air Europa bailout, which Judge Peinado tried (unsuccessfully) to link to Begoña Gómez, Pedro Sánchez's wife. Although the rescue is not the subject of the investigation either In Monday's Supreme Court ruling, Judge Puente stated his suspicion that Ábalos, at the behest of Aldama—former advisor to Air Europa—promoted a press release expressing the Ministry of Transport's support for the operation. In exchange, according to the investigating judge, the former minister spent several days in a villa in Marbella with his family, without paying for it himself. The payment was made by Koldo García's then-wife, with money that Aldama had provided her.