Víctor de Aldama had to prove before the Supreme Court that he is telling the truth; it is his lifeline so that his collaboration with justice and repentance are recognized and to achieve a considerable reduction of the sentence. To do this, he had to throw the former minister José Luis Ábalos and his loyal squire Koldo García under the bus. And he did. Eight hours of testimony in which he recounted how he was paying them a kind of salary of 10,000 euros per month, in addition to other gifts including rents, vacations, apartments, motorcycles, cars, and even medical treatments, totaling between three and a half and four million. These amounts were qualified, but the calculation of what the former minister and his advisor took would be that, according to the commission agent’s version. The money did not all come out of his pocket. Aldama put in part and other companies looking for contracts – with which he acted as a link – paid the other part. One part went to the minister and the advisor and another to the PSOE, always according to his version.
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Aldama did not spare details in an attempt to offer a narrative about his connection with the Government and to involve the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, in the plot. He knew that more was expected from him, other prisoners, besides his fellow defendants. That is why he spoke about his meeting with Sánchez at a rally in 2019; how he knew “absolutely everything”; how Vice President María Jesús Montero had the order to remove a debt with the Treasury; how the entire Government had organized a secret meeting with the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez; how the president spoke directly with Koldo García because “he owes him a lot and he knows it”; how the Government used him to send a message of support, through a letter, to the interim president of Venezuela Juan Guaidó; and above all how Ábalos, with the knowledge and consent of the head of the Executive, used Aldama as a link between the party and the companies to charge them for contracts and finance the PSOE.
The commission agent, who testified for eight hours, said he also paid a salary to the other two accused
Aldama did not spare details, many of them out of place such as comments by Ábalos and García regarding female colleagues in the Government. His extensive testimony, without refusing to answer any of the parties, intended to make the Court believe that he was a kind of government representative with companies and foreign governments, mainly Venezuela and Mexico.
He also defended that he was the only and best option to obtain eight million masks in the middle of the pandemic, due to his contacts in China and his financing capacity, thanks to a partner of his, Juan Carlos Cueto. The accused elaborated on all the corruption within the Ministry and beyond. A red line, according to the businessman, that was crossed at Ábalos’s request because – he declared – “he needed money for the party” and the president knew that.
He recounted that the former minister told him he “needed money for the party” and that the president knew it
The commission agent said that when a relationship of trust had already been established between the three accused, shortly after Ábalos arrived at Transport in 2018, he was given a first task. The minister needed him to be the link between the ministry and the companies that wanted public works. He was to be the one who collected the money from them and in return they would give him the contract they wanted.
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This is how, according to Aldama, the “roulette” of “kickbacks” begins. The businessman was the one managing that money. “I don’t look for them to give me money or contracts. What I look for is notoriety and power to do my business in another field. They are the ones who look for me and start with the PSOE,” he said. According to his account, the companies paid him and he took the cash to the Ministry and to the minister’s official residence. “There was no rule. There was no percentage, it was what we agreed per contract,” he assured. The payments came partly from the companies and partly from himself. What he paid them was not for something specific, but a “general calculation; I paid for everything.”
The PSOE will ask the Supreme Court for protection to defend itself against Aldama’s “insults”
Aldama said that his intention was never to become corrupt or to corrupt others. That came later and he assured he is “repentant.” He met Koldo García by chance in a café, introduced by his brother who worked at the Ministry. From there, the advisor began to ask him about his business knowledge, fifteen days later he introduced him to Ábalos and that’s where their relationship began, which ended up being very close, at least with García. “With Koldo, the only thing missing was to sleep with him,” he joked.
For this reason, according to his version, Ábalos organized a meeting between the businessman and the president at a PSOE rally in 2019. He says he told him: “I know perfectly well what you are doing and I just want to thank you.” All his statements were met with laughter, comments, and discredit from the other two accused, who today will try to counter his testimony. García’s lawyer has already announced that he will demand that Aldama provide proof of the payments he claims to have made.
According to the businessman, Ábalos and García received between 3.5 and 4 million euros in commissions
In response to Aldama’s statements, the PSOE will again ask the Supreme Court for protection to defend itself against Aldama’s “insults” and to prevent him from “defaming them with impunity” since “there is no illegal financing in the PSOE.”
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