Sarah Pérez Santaolalla questions in 'Malas Lenguas Noche' the 'altruistic role' of Víctor de Aldama: "He has not been a collaborator with Justice, he has been a television collaborator"

The program Malas Lenguas Noche on La 2 addressed this weekend the interview granted by Víctor de Aldama on Telemadrid, where the businessman claimed to have earned millions of euros with the mask purchase and sale operation. During the debate, Jesús Cintora recalled that the Prosecutor's Office demanded the return of nearly four million euros and highlighted that Aldama not only has not reimbursed them, but also publicly boasts about those earnings.

In the interview broadcast by the Madrid channel, Aldama stated: “Three million seven hundred thousand euros from the masks, obviously, and then, perhaps two million more. Taxes had to be paid on those three million seven hundred thousand euros, almost one million eight hundred thousand euros. The rest, obviously, I kept, and I continue to see opportunities to do business”. 

Following these words, Cintora opened a debate on set with his collaborators. The journalist Pepe Apezarena raised a reflection on the role of those who collaborate with Justice after participating in criminal activities, asking if it would be acceptable to offer favorable treatment to someone who helped uncover a larger plot.

Following these statements, Sarah Pérez Santaolalla rejected the idea that Aldama had collaborated altruistically with Justice. “Víctor de Aldama didn't do that. Víctor de Aldama was caught and then he snitched”, she affirmed. The collaborator insisted that the businessman did not decide to collaborate voluntarily, but reacted once investigated: “Víctor de Aldama is a criminal who has been investigated for years, who is caught, hunted, and when he has the handcuffs on his hands, he says: 'I'm going to confess'”.

The analyst was even more forceful in questioning the value of his contributions in judicial investigations. “The UCO itself, Víctor de Aldama has not even contributed anything that the UCO didn't know. Colonel Balas said that”, she pointed out. Furthermore, she maintained that some of the accusations made by the businessman have been disproven during the process: “The accusations made by Víctor de Aldama in court saying that 'number one is the President of the Government' are disproven by the anti-corruption prosecutor himself”.

Finally, Pérez Santaolalla concluded his intervention with a harsh criticism of the media role that the businessman has acquired: “Víctor de Aldama has contributed nothing. He has not been a collaborator with Justice, he has been a television collaborator. As a television collaborator, he will do very well in many dung heaps”, he concluded. The discussion ended with a critical reflection on the media impact of the case and on the public perception of the functioning of Justice in cases like this, as the collaborator ended up concluding: “People believe less and less and it is because of judges who leave criminals on the street.”