Businessman Víctor Aldama, epicenter of the Koldo corruption case, told the judge on Thursday that the photo published by the newspaper El Mundo on February 3, 2019 responds to a planned meeting with Pedro Sánchez because the president of the government had requested to meet him, legal sources inform elDiario.es.
According to the version of the person indicted, who is in temporary prison for another case, the President of the Government told him that he was “informed” of his efforts and thanked him for what he “did” regarding the efforts he had made in Mexico and which had resulted in the trip of the Minister of Transport at the time, José Luis Ábalos, and of the businessman himself. Aldama added that the photo with Sánchez was taken in a private room and that he is neither a member nor a supporter of the PSOE.
The alleged perpetrator of the “Koldo affair” asked this week to voluntarily testify before the judge. Aldama arrived around 9 a.m. at the headquarters of the special court in a police van from the prison where he remained more than a month after being arrested for another operation linked to alleged fraud in the hydrocarbon sector. The statement before the judge continues.
So far, Aldama’s statement focuses on exposing its relevance to the Spanish government’s efforts. One of the photos that illustrate the summary shows a meeting in Mexico, on December 12, 2018, in the city of Oaxaca, with the country’s authorities and the minister of the time, José Luis Ábalos, accompanied by the man of ‘business. Aldama reported that the Spanish ambassador was unhappy that it was the businessman who organized the entire meeting, including its security.
In the “Koldo case”, investigators define Aldama as the “corrupting element” of the plot and maintain that his power of penetration reached the engine room of the Ministry of Transport. An incursion facilitated by Koldo García, who went from brothel doorman or security guard – convicted of beatings – to advisor and right-hand man of Ábalos, with a lot of influence in the ministry and sits on the councils of administration of several public companies.
A “unique and direct” relationship was established between the two men from the summer of 2018, fueled by gifts from the businessman, who paid him 10,000 euros in cash for months, in addition other extraordinary remuneration. In exchange, the advisor provided him with “privileged information” and access to “higher authorities,” including Ábalos, whom members of the conspiracy called “the boss.”
