The Spanish Justice dealt one of the hardest blows to socialism in recent years by sentencing former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos to 24 years and 3 months in prison for crimes of organized crime, bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling.
The ruling, unanimously issued by the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court, also sentenced his former advisor Koldo García to 19 years, 8 months, and one day in prison, as it was proven that both were part of a corruption structure that operated from the highest echelons of power during the PSOE government.
The verdict represents a devastating blow to the party that governs Spain and judicially confirms the allegations that for years pointed to a network of favoritism, bribery, and the use of public resources for private purposes.
A criminal organization entrenched in the State
According to the ruling, Ábalos, Koldo García, and businessman Víctor de Aldama formed a criminal organization with a perfectly defined division of functions to benefit from public contracts and obtain illegal economic advantages.
The judges found it established that the scheme intervened in the awarding of the supply of 13 million masks to state agencies during the pandemic, taking advantage of the health emergency to direct million-dollar contracts.
Additionally, the court established that Ábalos received 10,000 euros monthly for personal expenses, money that was part of the illegal payment scheme orchestrated by the network.
Irregular hiring, housing, and political favors
The judicial resolution also confirmed a series of personal benefits obtained by the former socialist minister.
Among them are:
The hiring of two people linked to Ábalos in public companies.
The payment for housing for one of them.
