This Tuesday begins the trial for the ‘Koldo case’ where the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, his former advisor Koldo García and the businessman Víctor de Aldama are going to sit on the defendants' bench of the Supreme Court. In it, the alleged irregularity in which they are involved regarding the mask contracts that were awarded by the Ministry of Transport during the covid-19 pandemic will be judged. But, what role have the three accused played in the alleged corruption scheme?
In the 'Koldo case' three names resonate: Koldo, Ábalos, and Aldama. The first of them has become the main axis to understand the mask plot, giving in turn the name to the case, and for whom the Prosecutor's Office requests 19 years in prison. The former advisor was arrested in 2024 for having acted as an intermediary in the alleged corruption in the purchase of masks during the pandemic, through the Ministry of Transport, collecting commissions to facilitate the contracts. In this context and according to the Civil Guard, he was the “connecting element” with Ábalos and carried out the “direct instructions from Ábalos”.
Thus appears the businessman Víctor de Aldama, link between Koldo and the companies that benefit from the mask contracts, the alleged fixer and commission agent of the plot for whom the Prosecutor's Office requests seven years in prison. Both Ábalos and the former advisor are in provisional prison while Aldama, having confessed bribes before the court, was released from prison. The Civil Guard considers him the “corrupting link”.
In the case of José Luis Ábalos, the Prosecutor's Office requests 24 years in prison and he is accused of alleged corruption, bribery, and criminal organization. Anti-Corruption states that he had a “main role” since the contracts had to be endorsed by him, at that time Minister of Transport. The question that remains floating is to what extent Ábalos was a specific beneficiary of those services or was an active part of a broader structure of using his influence to favor awards.
Likewise, the police force mentions the company Management Solutions, linked to the businessman Juan Carlos Cueto, which the summary describes as an instrumental company used to channel large contracts for sanitary material and distribute allegedly illegal commissions.
However, more names appear such as the recently mentioned Cueto, businessman and alleged mastermind of the plot; José Luis Rodríguez, lieutenant of the Civil Guard, who is considered knowledgeable of the alleged corruption; Joseba García, Koldo's brother, considered a front man for his relative; Patricia Uriz, ex-wife of the former advisor, considered a beneficiary of kickbacks; Jessica Rodríguez, Ábalos's ex-partner, for her hiring in two public companies; Isabel Pardo de Vera, former president of Adif, alleged crimes of embezzlement and influence peddling; Francina Armengol, president of Congress and former president of the Balearic Islands who, during the pandemic, paid Soluciones de Gestión nearly four million euros, and, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, also contracted sanitary material from the company as president of the Canary Islands.
What did the mask contracts consist of?
The plot of the 'Koldo case' or 'mask case' was uncovered in February 2024 by the UCO and revealed that entities dependent on the Ministry of Transport -Puertos del Estado and Adif- awarded contracts for 54 million euros for 13 million defective masks during the worst phase of the pandemic, with illegal commissions of 3.7 million euros for Aldama, channeled to Ábalos and Koldo via undeclared payments, gifts, and political favors.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office states that the three “agreed to the future commission of crimes, as the opportunities to commit them arose.” Likewise, it states that they were helped “by other authorities and officials” as well as by Koldo's relatives and other businessmen from Aldama's circle. Finally, it states that the alleged criminal organization of which they are accused was created “with an undeniable vocation for permanence over time”.
Does the case splash the PSOE?
The answer to this question is affirmative. Ábalos has been a key figure in the Government of Pedro Sánchez. In addition, the former secretary of organization of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, was pointed out as one of the people who allegedly received commissions in the plot. At the same time, the UCO points to Cerdán's wife, Francisca Muñoz Cano, known as “Paqui”.
The former secretary is currently on provisional release and is being investigated for membership in a criminal organization, bribery, and influence peddling, for allegedly leading the management of illegal commissions from the construction company Acciona and other companies awarded public works linked to the PSOE. In the same way, the UCO details that Cerdán's wife received about 9,500 euros in 2018 as an “employee” of the cooperative Noran, a company linked to the corruption scheme, without any record of real work activity.
However, these facts about the public works plot affecting Cerdán and his circle will not be judged in the Supreme Court, but the investigative line remains open in the National Court, while the high court focuses on the stage of mask purchases.
