Javier Hidalgo, son of the founder of Globalia and former CEO of the company, appeared this Thursday as a witness before the judge of the National Court in charge of the investigation into the “Koldo case” on allegations of corruption in the purchase of medical supplies during the pandemic with contracts. of the Ministry of Transport and other public bodies. Before the judge, Hidalgo denied having paid commissions to the conspiracy for the contracts that companies in the air transport sector concluded to bring masks to Spain during the pandemic, sources close to the content of these statements confirm to elDiario.es.
Until 2021, Hidalgo was CEO of Globalia, one of the companies responsible for transporting part of the medical supplies purchased by the Ministry of Transport and other public bodies from China to Spain. The documentation included in the summary certifies that Soluciones de Gestión, a company at the epicenter of the plot, hired Grupo Globalia to transport the masks. And that in turn, MTM 180 CAPITAL SL, one of the companies of Víctor de Aldama, the alleged perpetrator of the plot, received payments from Globalia. Payments that, according to the judges of the criminal court, could be “in the form of commission.”
Before the judge, Hidalgo denied having paid bribes to Aldama, a businessman with no connection to the health sector, former president of a third division football club – Zamora CF – and who managed to find suppliers of masks when the health crisis broke out. The former CEO of Globalia assured that Aldama had been hired to carry out different “service provision” jobs, among which he cited the mediation for the allocation of a hotel in the Caribbean or to negotiate the debt that the airline Air Europa had pending collection from Venezuela. The remuneration was 10,000 euros per month.
Regarding the transport services provided by Air Europa, a company of the Globalia group, Hidalgo explained that he was not in the negotiations and cited two former senior officials of the airline as those who managed all commercial matters and dealt with Aldama.
He also indicated, according to the sources consulted, that the transport services provided by Globalia for the company in the plot, which he calculated at 18 flights after several number dances, were not of economic interest, but rather of humanitarian interest, and that even the first ones had not come to generate profit.
Hidalgo’s summons as a witness occurred contrary to the criteria of the prosecution, which considered that his appearance was “neither useful nor necessary” at the request of Liberum, one of the popular accusations put forward in the case. Judge Moreno rejected his testimony, but his decision was overturned by the Criminal Chamber of the National Court. The three judges of the Second Section considered that the summons of the businessman was “useful and relevant.”
