“Jo with the minister in the firm res”

MadridThe first videos of former minister José Luis Ábalos’ statements at the Supreme Court before Christmas are beginning to circulate. “I cannot even identify the works. This management was carried out from the general direction of Roads, under the supervision of the general secretary of Infrastructure. I have never participated in the management of these projects. To the extent that I have not followed them I don’t know if they have been modified, the minister (currently Óscar Puente) has said. I don’t sign anything as the minister. state,” he replied the still deputy in Congress to a question from the Prosecutor’s Office, as can be seen in the video published by The World. He was referring to the list of contracts that the businessman Víctor de Aldama contributed to the cause, underlined in an annex of the general State budgets, and which were supposed to have been corrupted. A list that the current Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, analyzed and concluded that there were no signs of irregularities and that, in addition, many of the awards were from times prior to Ábalos.

It was on December 12 that the ex-minister voluntarily testified before the Spanish High Court. He discharged any responsibility in lower positions and, regarding the contacts with the alleged commissioner of the plot, in his ex-advisor Koldo García. As reflected by the cut you have had access to The ConfidentialÁbalos explained that he met García in 2017 during Pedro Sánchez’s campaign in the PSOE primaries. “Always in the presence of Santos Cerdán”, he recounted, who was then the party’s organizational secretary in Navarre, and Koldo began working for the PSOE in that community. Then, when Ábalos became secretary of organization, he signed him as a driver. “He would take me, bring me back and somehow take care of me,” she added.

A week later Aldama declared, also in the Supreme Court and, as can be seen in a video published in OkDiarioinsisted that the money Ábalos would have received in exchange for facilitating awards to companies in the plot was in cash. “Is there any protection?” asked the politician’s lawyer. “The question is offensive”, he replied.