Spain's Supreme Court sentences former minister Ábalos to 24 years in prison for corruption
The Supreme Court has imposed a 24-year prison sentence on former transport minister José Luis Ábalos for corruption offences related to face mask contracts during the pandemic.
Spain's Supreme Court sentences former minister Ábalos to 24 years in prison for corruption
Spain's Supreme Court has sentenced former transport minister José Luis Ábalos to 24 years in prison for corruption, according to news agency AFP. The verdict strikes directly at the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and increases pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who already faces repeated calls for his resignation.
The case revolves around irregular contracts for the purchase of millions of face masks during the covid-19 health crisis. The prosecution contended that Ábalos received in return monthly salary supplements, payment for family holidays, advantages for his lovers and even prostitution services.
His former adviser Koldo García was also sentenced, receiving 19 years for membership in a criminal organisation, corruption, embezzlement and abuse of influence. Both, who rejected the charges during trial, have spent several months in pre-trial detention.
Businessman Víctor de Aldama, whose companies were favoured in the award of the face mask contracts, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, though the execution of the sentence was suspended due to his collaboration with the justice system. De Aldama testified before the court that Sánchez headed an "organisation" that used these illegal commissions to finance the PSOE, something the head of government flatly denies.
In its unanimous ruling, the high court established that the three accused formed "a criminal organisation with division of roles that committed serious corruption offences". Ábalos had been a key figure in Sánchez's rise and the most powerful man in the PSOE between 2017 and 2021, until the scandal broke.
The case has shaken a left-wing administration that has always presented itself as a champion in the fight against corruption. The opposition, both from the People's Party and the far-right Vox, continues to call for early elections, a request that Sánchez rejects.
The judicial situation of the president's circle becomes even more complicated: his brother awaits sentencing for abuse of influence, his wife Begoña Gómez was summoned to trial for corruption with a ban on leaving the country, and his mentor, former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is also accused of abuse of influence. In late May, additionally, police raided the PSOE's Madrid headquarters in a parallel investigation.
Source: Aktuálně.cz / AFP
Source: Aktuálně.cz