The businessman Víctor de Aldama, under investigation by the Audiencia Nacional, stated this Thursday that former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero used secure phones and indicated that he is unaware of any commission payments in the Balearic Islands for the mask contracts awarded to the alleged network during the pandemic, unlike what would have happened in the Canary Islands, as he clarified.
According to legal sources consulted by Europa Press, Aldama made these statements before Judge Ismael Moreno, to whom he appeared after being summoned following the report by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil on the sanitary material contracts awarded by the Balearic Government to the alleged network.
In his appearance, he added that the alleged payments of 10,000 euros that he would have made to Koldo García, former advisor to the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, would not be limited to mask contracts, but would also be linked to alleged rigging in public works tenders.
The alleged facilitator explained that it was Koldo García who acted as the link between him and Francina Armengol, and pointed out that the former advisor even boasted to him about the relationship he had with the former president of the Balearic Islands and current president of Congress.
Furthermore, he indicated that Zapatero, recently indicted in the "Plus Ultra" case, used secure phones similar to those used by the mask network, although he admitted that he does not know if these devices came from Rubén Villalba, the Guardia Civil commander investigated in the "Koldo case" who allegedly provided these devices to Koldo and Aldama.
During his statement, Aldama insisted that he was a collaborator of the Guardia Civil and that, for this purpose, he provided financial support to some units of the corps by delivering material or "merchandise".
Economic relationship between Aldama and Koldo
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested the appearance of Koldo and Aldama following the UCO's report on the Balearic Islands, with the aim of delving into the links between the members of the alleged criminal organization, which would include, among others, Aldama, Koldo, and former minister Ábalos.
That report underscored that the contracts for sanitary material formalized during the coronavirus pandemic "will constitute part of the reason for the monthly consideration of 10,000 euros in cash that Víctor de Aldama had been paying to Koldo," a relationship that, according to investigators, allowed the businessman "to have access" to the former minister.
The document also detailed that this "economic relationship" continued for up to eight months after Ábalos and Koldo were dismissed from the Ministry of Transport in July 2021, which is why "this pattern" of payments from Aldama would not be limited "to specific actions," but would be aimed at "ensuring his capacity for influence" to achieve "economic profit."
Initially, Aldama's summons was set for May 14, on the same date as Koldo's and both as investigated parties, but Judge Moreno decided to postpone Aldama's declaration to this week, according to a provision to which Europa Press had access, once "the schedule of hearings" of the National Court was verified.
Koldo invokes his right not to testify
Koldo, for his part, invoked his right not to testify, as communicated to the media by his lawyer, Leticia de la Hoz, who filed an appeal before the magistrate investigating the "Koldo case" to request the dismissal of the case regarding her client and the suspension of the interrogation, considering that the facts about which he was going to be questioned had already been judged by the Supreme Court.
De la Hoz recalled that Koldo had been summoned to testify about the masks from the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands when "he has already been the subject of a trial in the Supreme Court because the prosecutor and the popular prosecution had already incorporated him into the final conclusions." "Furthermore, it was the subject of evidence, because we requested the testimony of Francina Armengol and Ángel Víctor Torres and, indeed, it was carried out" in the trial, she explained, referring to the former presidents of both autonomous communities.
Judge Ismael Moreno keeps several lines of investigation open, the main one being related to the alleged irregularities in the purchase of masks during the pandemic, a part of which had already been analyzed by the Supreme Court with Ábalos, Koldo, and Aldama as defendants, due to the privileged deputy status that the former minister held when he was prosecuted.
In this case, alleged rigging in public works contracts and cash payments by the PSOE between 2017 and 2024 to reimburse advanced expenses are also being investigated, a piece that remains under summary secrecy.