The judge of the National Court Santiago Pedraz agreed this afternoon on the provisional release, with precautionary measuresof businessman Víctor de Aldama, who will immediately leave Soto del Real prison.
Aldama, deprived of his liberty since October 8 for his alleged involvement in the appeal fuel plotwill be released a few hours after appearing before the National Court to “collaborate with justice”, as his lawyer, José Antonio Choclán, announced to Judge Ismael Moreno.
For two hours, the commissioner of the mask market awarded by the Ministry of Transport while it was headed by José Luis Ábalos – an operation that brought him a profit of 5.5 million euros, as he admitted before the judge – revealed his relationships with different members of the government of Pedro Sanchez, Since Therese Ribera has Angel Victor Torresstarting with the president himself.
Aldama reported that his first meeting with Sánchez took place at a PSOE event in Madrid on February 3, 2019 and that they took a photo together.
“The president told me verbatim: ‘Thank you for what you do, you have kept me very informed‘”, said the businessman who, the next day, together with Ábalos and his advisor, Koldo García, undertook a trip to Mexico organized by Aldama where they managed to conclude transport agreements.
Anti-corruption prosecutor Luis Pastor this afternoon supported the freedom of the businessman requested by his defense after the judicial declaration. This was determining factor for Pedraz’s decision.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has positively assessed Aldama’s revelations and considers that his attitude of collaboration with Justice, assuming his own responsibility, is a new factor which neutralizes the risk of flight and the danger of destruction of evidence appreciated to incite his preventive imprisonment.
This was explained by tax sources to EL ESPAÑOL, who hopes that Aldama will continue to contribute to the investigations, as he promised, both in the “Koldo case” and in the case of VAT fraud on hydrocarbons.
Inside Koldo affairJudge Moreno is investigating an alleged plot dedicated to collect illegal commissions thanks to the awards received during the Covid-19 pandemic by Soluciones de Gestión SL.
This company was hired in 2020 by the Ministry of Transport, when he led it Jose Luis Abalosto provide masks. Víctor de Aldama would have acted as a commission agent/intermediary in this plot, in addition, as the summary shows, by actively participating in the work of Transport.
In the procedure concerning the fuel plot possible fraud of more than 182 million eurosfor VAT, to the Public Treasury, through Villafuel SL and other companies in the hydrocarbon sector.
Moreno had not ordered Aldama’s preventive detention, but Pedraz did so on October 8. Since the prosecutor is the same in both procedures and only he acts in the fuel plot Because it is secret, it is the fight against corruption that holds the key to the businessman’s freedom. Judges cannot accept or maintain the preventive detention of an accused if there are no charges pushing or requesting its lifting.
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Pedraz explains this in his resolution: “When the request from the Prosecutor’s Office ceases, and since the accusations made are not present (taking into account the secrecy of the procedure), it is appropriate to decree the provisional release” of Aldama.
The instructor of the hydrocarbon conspiracy imposed on the businessman light precautionary measuresconsisting of establishing an address for the purposes of notifications, communicating to this Court any change thereof and providing a telephone number to always be located; the obligation to appear every week before the court and the ban on leaving the national territory without prior judicial authorization.
