The businessman Víctor de Aldama, investigated in the Koldo affair and in the fuel plotleft the Soto del Real prison last night after 44 days behind bars and only 10 hours after finishing his first confession before National Court judge Ismael Moreno.
“Don’t worry about Mr. Sánchez, he will have proof.“, he declared upon his release from prison.
“This man must know that he is a mythomaniac and that he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, because when he was asked twice, once in Congress and once in Portugal, if he knew me, he didn’t respond,” he said.
The video of Aldama’s confession before the judge: “Sánchez tells me, verbatim, thank you for what you do”
“And suddenly, when a photo of me comes out [con Sánchez]he already knows me, saying he’s a photo taken with anyone. No, the photos you take with someone are taken on the street, not in private spaces,” he added.
Direct message to the President of the Government, who in the afternoon had scorned Víctor de Aldama: without mentioning him by name (“this character”“an alleged criminal”), Pedro Sánchez said that “his defense strategy is lies” and said he deserves “no credibility.”
The reaction to Aldama’s judicial statement was complemented by another of those indicated by the businessman, Santos Cerdanorganizational secretary of the PSOE, who announced that the party will “immediately” file a complaint against him for his multiple “lies”.
“Let’s see if they dare to file a complaint”respond the entourage of Víctor de Aldama, recalling that in our law “there is the veritatis exception”, that is to say the exemption from criminal liability for slander if the accused proves the reality of the fact that he assigned to another person.
In other words: Aldama He has evidence for what he claims and is willing to use it.provide the same sources.
And what he has said so far has involved half the government. Beyond the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, taken for granted, Aldama spoke yesterday of Fernando Grande Marlaska and the head of the CNI, Marguerite Roblesin relation to the visit of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to Spain in January 2019; of the first vice-president, Maria Jesus Monterowhose chief of staff allegedly received a “bribe” for a favor granted to an Aldama company; from another former vice president, Nadia Calvinowith whom he discussed the rescue of Air Europa; with the still vice-president Therese Riberawith whom he spoke about a project about an emptied Spain in which Sánchez’s wife was also involved, Begoña Gomez; and the minister Angel Victor Torreswith whom he negotiated a mask contract for the Canary Islands and who later, according to what Koldo García told him, asked for 50,000 euros.
“The issue of quotas will be explained”
“The issue of quotas will be explained another time.” Aldama defender José Antonio Choclán left this warning in the air. This is Ábalos’ powerful successor as number 2 of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, amnesty negotiator and Sánchez’s interlocutor with Puigdemont.
Aldama intentionally gave a vague explanation at this point. He said he had participated in the call for tenders for a contract in the Basque Country with a construction company “whose name I prefer not to pronounce”. “So Koldo García [exasesor de Ábalos en el Ministerio de Transportes] He tells me that we should not enter this field, that there are quotas and that the Basque quota comes from Santos Cerdán“.
Aldama explained that Cerdán was angry because the offer had not passed through his hands and “to satisfy him in one way or another” Koldo gave him, in Aldama’s eyes, an envelope of 15,000 euros in a bar in front of the PSOE headquarters, rue Ferraz. .
The businessman declared “enough” to gain the confidence of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, which yesterday afternoon presented a document supporting the release from prison of Judge Santiago Pedraz.
Anti-corruption, satisfied
After the “detailed statement made at its own request”, Anticorruption underlined in a press release, the prosecution supported the request for provisional release made by the defense and did so “with regard exclusively to the express recognition that the person placed under investigation of the crimes committed.” They accuse him of having clarified the mechanisms of his commission and of having even recognized the commission of new crimes, without the prosecution having evaluated other aspects of his statement in this decision”.
The Prosecutor’s Office appreciated that “the confession of crimes places the person investigated in a situation new situationwhich distorts one of the reasons that determined the prison – the destruction of evidence – and mitigates the other – the risk of escape.
The public prosecutor’s press release does not say this, but The prosecutor knows that Aldama has more “very sensitive” informationthey ensure in their environment, and this will contribute to it. First in the Koldo affair and later, when the secrecy of the procedure is lifted, in the case of hydrocarbons.
Deliberately, the businessman spoke very little about Begoña Gómez this morning (“it was not the time”). He also did not provide any documents or other evidence to support his statements (“there are some”). But what he already said had an impact immediate cluster effect: Judge Moreno yesterday sent the statement to his colleague Santiago Pedraz, instructor of the fuel plotand to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, which opened a trial against Ábalos on the 7th. It’s only just beginning.
The full video of Aldama’s confession before the judge
