The National Court investigates seven people in the so-called ‘Koldo case’, the case about the alleged plot that would have paid commissions to obtain awards for the sale of masks in the pandemic. Among those investigated is the aforementioned Koldo García, former advisor to the former Minister of Transportation José Luis Ábalos.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office attributes all alleged crimes of criminal organization, money laundering, bribery, crimes against the Public Treasury and influence peddling. They were arrested last week within the framework of ‘operation Delorme’, they appeared before Judge Ismael Moreno and remain free.
For the Public Ministry, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that There is “a criminal organization” with “previous agreements” that was dedicated to “getting the award” of contracts. The payments would have been obtained by Koldo García “to mediate and obtain” said awards. “Operations to hide these charges, as well as to avoid the traceability of the income obtained as a result of the irregular awards, would also have been carried out.”
In total, eight contracts awarded by different Public Administration entities are under scrutiny with a global amount of 51.998.434 euros. Although more than a dozen names appear in the case summary, at the moment only seven people are charged. These are the faces of the million-dollar corruption plot:
Koldo Garcia
He gives his name to the case and was an advisor to former Minister Ábalos. According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, He is the person to whom the plot turned to “expedite” procedures with the Ministry of Transportation in contracting during the pandemic for the sale of masks, facilitating the processes of awarding material to the company Soluciones de Gestión.
According to investigators, Koldo increased his assets by 1.5 million euros between 2020 and 2022, by becoming the direct or indirect owner of movable and immovable property, such as three homes in Benidorm (Alicante), months after public awards to the company of the plot took place.
Victor de Aldama
He is the president of Zamora CF and appears in the summary as the alleged achiever of the plot, given that, at that time, had “a certain prevalence” in the Ministry of Transport, Therefore, it “would have influenced” the contracts to end up being awarded to Management Solutions.
Anti-corruption, which considers that An economic benefit of 5.5 million euros was generated from Aldama, He relates in his complaint that when he learned that Transportes needed to acquire medical supplies, as he himself did not have the necessary means or sufficient financing to do so alone, he contacted Soluciones de Gestión and the Cueto group, which controlled the company. and it did have the capacity to execute the contract.
Juan Carlos Cueto
Considered the alleged ‘brain’ of the company at the apex of the plot, The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that he had a “direct and close relationship” with Ábalos’ former advisor “which is not limited solely to the awarding of contracts.” According to the Prosecutor’s Office, he would have pocketed 9.6 million euros.
He is the only one of the seven investigated who has testified so far before the judge, whom he assured that With his actions he tried to help the Spanish, that he did not take advantage of the sale of masks and that the medical supplies were sold according to the market price, with a low profit margin. The rest of the defendants availed themselves of their right not to testify.
Inigo Rotaeche
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office identifies him in his complaint as the “main and sole shareholder” of Soluciones de Gestión at the time of the award of the investigated contracts. He appears in several conversations related to the efforts for the Balearic Islands claim that were intercepted by the Civil Guard within the framework of the investigation.
From these telephone communications, the Benemérita concludes that it is “Juan Carlos Cueto’s trusted person”, alleged ‘mastermind’ of the plot. As noted in their reports, both report “daily” about the “procedures carried out through Koldo regarding the claim from the Administration of the Balearic Islands to Management Solutions.”
José Luis Rodríguez
He is a “second lieutenant of the Civil Guard assigned to the Ministry of Transportation,” according to the Armed Institute. The agents maintain that “he has a relationship with Koldo García” and that “said link directly connects the highest level of management of the contracts under investigation, with one of the companies in which part of the profits have been invested.”
The researchers place him on at least two occasions in meetings with Koldo García in the seafood restaurant in Madrid where the plot used to be. They consider that she is a “key player in the management of the investigated contracts since she is credited with having put Cueto and De Aldama in contact with those responsible for the award.”
Patricia Uriz
The Public Ministry refers to it as the Koldo García’s partner. According to her, she is the “sole owner” of “a large part” of the movable and immovable property that would have been acquired mainly with the income of Ábalos’ former advisor.“who only appears as the owner of one of the assets acquired after 2020.”
As part of the investigation, the judge has agreed to prohibit the sale, tax, transfer and disposal of several of his vehicles and He has blocked seven bank accounts in which his name appears.
Joseba Garcia
He is Koldo’s brother and, in the opinion of Anticorruption, he was used to “hide the real ownership of some properties” with his ex-wife.
Investigators have detected transfers from his accounts to those of Koldo, his wife and his daughter. «It should be noted that he has been a recipient of cash funds in his accounts that in 2020 “They reach 130,652.38 euros, 84,907.61 euros in 2021, and 52,125 euros in 2022.”point out.
