Supreme Court imposes 24-year prison sentence on former minister Ábalos in face-mask case
Spain's former transport minister José Luis Ábalos has been sentenced to 24 years and three months in prison for the crimes of criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement and abuse of office in the scandal over face-mask contracts during the pandemic.
Supreme Court imposes 24-year prison sentence on former minister Ábalos in face-mask case
The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court has ruled against former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, imposing a sentence of 24 years and three months in prison. The ruling, notified on Monday 22 June, finds him guilty of being part of a criminal structure, purchasing favours with public money, diverting state funds and using his position to obtain personal benefits.
Spain's highest judicial body established that the actual time he will have to serve in prison will not exceed sixteen and a half years. Koldo García, who served as Ábalos's adviser, must serve up to fifteen years following a sentence of 19 years and eight months. Businessman Víctor de Aldama received a sentence of four and a half years, with his prison admission suspended due to his proven cooperation with investigators.
The entire illicit scheme centred on the Covid-19 health emergency. Two organisations dependent on the ministry—the state port authority and the rail infrastructure administrator—commissioned a company linked to De Aldama to supply 13 million face masks for a total of 36 million euros. In return, according to the judges, the former minister received extra payments, family trips paid for, benefits for associates and other advantages.
The unanimous verdict emphasises that the three defendants set up a criminal gang with defined roles that exploited public office for their own benefit. During oral proceedings, De Aldama went so far as to point to Pedro Sánchez as the mastermind of the scheme and claimed that the PSOE profited illegally through hidden commissions. Both the president and his political party denied these allegations.
The sentence has sent shockwaves through Spanish political life. From the right, the PP and Vox are insisting on Sánchez's immediate resignation and bringing forward general elections, something the socialist has repeatedly ruled out. The situation is complicated by other investigations surrounding his inner circle, such as the one affecting his spouse Begoña Gómez and his brother David.
Data obtained from Médias24.
Source: Google News MA