The Koldo case, an investigation into irregular commissions in the midst of a pandemic
The National Court is investigating an alleged corruption network that would have profited from the sale of masks to public administrations during the covid-19 health crisis. The case, which has been called the Koldo case, refers to the former advisor and right-hand man of the former Minister of Transportation, José Luis Ábalos, Koldo García, who would be involved in the plot along with six other defendants. Judge Ismael Moreno, who is handling the case, has pointed to Ábalos himself as one of the “intermediaries” of the network, as recorded in an order dated February 7, in which he authorized wiretapping of those under investigation. The judge places the former minister as an intermediary in the management of the group accused of the claim that the government of the Balearic Islands made against the company of Koldo and Juan Carlos Cueto for the reimbursement of money for the purchase of masks that turned out to be defective.
Ábalos and Pombo, not investigated but indicated by the judge
At the moment, neither Ábalos nor Jacobo Pombo, another of the alleged intermediaries in the plot, are being investigated in the procedure being followed in the National Court for alleged crimes of criminal organization, money laundering, bribery and influence peddling. However, Judge Moreno focuses on a meeting that took place on January 10 in a restaurant in Madrid. “Koldo meets, among other people, with José Luis Ábalos in a reserved area of the La Chalana seafood restaurant between approximately 9:15 p.m. and 10:20 p.m., as reflected in the police report,” he indicates. The magistrate considers that this meeting “has a special interest for the facts investigated” taking into account the telephone conversation held the previous day between the businessman Juan Carlos Cueto, the alleged ‘mastermind’ of the plot, and Koldo. According to the police investigation, in this call “Cueto asked him to say something to a third party before he went on a trip to Peru on January 11.” “In fact, Koldo informed Cueto that one of the things to discuss with one of the people he will meet the next day—when he meets with Ábalos—was this, it is understood that he referred to the procedures carried out with the Administration Balearic Islands to resolve the claim of 2.6 million euros made to Management Solutions,” adds the judge.
A report from the Civil Guard implicates Ábalos as an “intermediary”
This Thursday morning it was learned that a report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard implicates former Minister Ábalos as an “intermediary” involved in the Koldo case and aware of the facts that Justice has now been investigating since at least November. . As El Mundo reported this Thursday, the police report also includes the recent meeting between Ábalos and Koldo García in the booth of a restaurant that belongs to another of those accused of the alleged plot. A plot to sell masks to public administrations during the covid pandemic with which, according to this report, commissions of up to 54 million euros would have been obtained. The police report maintains that on November 4, 2023, Koldo García sent Ábalos, through his brother, documentation related to the investigation that was being followed and that implicated him in the plot.