The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has certified for the first time the “consideration” allegedly received by former socialist minister José Luis Ábalos following his efforts for the so-called Koldo plot, the case of alleged corruption in the procurement of medical supplies during the pandemic with government contracts that were tucked into the Department of Transportation he led between January 2020 and July 2021.
According to a report submitted to the judge of the National Court in charge of investigating the case, the businessman Víctor de Aldama, alleged getter and also investigated, paid for months the rent of an apartment for his partner in the center of Madrid and also bought a chalet in Cádiz which the former minister enjoyed. In the report, of more than 200 pages, the investigators attribute to the former socialist minister a “relevant and responsible role” in the plot and call for his indictment.
UCO investigations prove that Aldama paid up to 32 monthly rent payments for the apartment where a woman named Jessica, who was at the time the former minister’s romantic partner, resided. The monthly rent was 2,700 euros. And the businessman paid a total of nearly 82,298 euros through an alleged nominee and people and companies under his control. Analysis of the messages confirms that the woman occupied the house for three and a half years.
On the other hand, the UCO also considers that there is “multiple evidence” that Ábalos made “real use” of a chalet located in the La Alcaidesa urbanization, near Sotogrande, purchased by Aldama.
“In the presence of evidence, obtained directly from the elements of the file, fed together and with a clear temporal correlation, they would link the participation of Ábalos in the contracts investigated, with the purchase by Aldama of a chalet for “the former minister himself,” continues the latest UCO report submitted to the judge.
According to the report, Aldama managed the purchase of the villa by first involving Venezuelan businessmen and then the fraud in the hydrocarbon sector for which he was sent to prison this Thursday. In exchange, Aldama would receive a license to sell fuel to the operator Villafuel SL, although the operation was interrupted by the departure of Ábalos and Koldo García from the ministry.
The emails analyzed by the UCO show how the minister at the time even suggested to his advisor several properties in the La Alcaidesa urbanization through a message with several links from the Idealista real estate platform. “Koldo would have been responsible for selecting the property with the criteria received from Ábalos,” specifies the UCO.
The police unit also assures that the advisor was also in charge of “details” that might interest his boss, such as the destination of the existing furniture in the house. “Aldama communicated them to Koldo, who sent the former minister’s response back to Aldama,” add the investigators.
