The Supreme Court (TS) has set April 28 to take testimony as defendants from former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, his former advisor Koldo García and businessman Víctor de Aldama in the trial for the alleged irregularities in the acquisition of masks during the pandemic.
According to the calendar of hearings collected by Europa Press, the court in charge of prosecuting the defendants has set the start of the trial for April 7 at 10:00 a.m. and its conclusion, if there are no changes, for the 30th of that same month, a day on which the documentary evidence will be presented and the parties will present their final reports.
The Criminal Chamber has cancelled the session scheduled for April 16 due to “institutional reasons”, so that the trial will finally take place over 13 sessions.
Torres, Armengol and the rest of witnesses
By the Plenary Hall of the Supreme Court more than 75 witnesses are summoned to testify, among them, on the first day, the son of the former minister, Koldo's brother and a partner of Aldama, among others.
The court will also hear, from 3:30 p.m. on April 22, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the President of Congress, Francina Armengol, who during the pandemic were presidents of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, respectively, communities that awarded contracts to the company considered the epicenter of the alleged plot.
Also included in the list of accepted witnesses are the president of the Court of Accounts, Enriqueta Chicano; the former president of Adif Isabel Pardo de Vera, investigated in the Audiencia Nacional for the “Koldo case”; the former Secretary of State for Interior Rafael Pérez; the director general of the Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras; the former manager of the PSOE Mariano Moreno, as well as former chiefs of staff, former presidents of Renfe, Correos and Puertos del Estado, in addition to businessmen, family members and people from the accused's circle.
"Priority"
In another proceeding known last Friday, the Supreme Court specified that this trial is “priority” as it is a case with a prisoner. Both Ábalos and Koldo García remain in prison since last November due to the risk of flight assessed by the instructor.
The Criminal Chamber will try Koldo, the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos and Aldama for alleged crimes of bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, membership in a criminal organization, use and exploitation of privileged information, falsification and malfeasance.
Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requests 24 years in prison for Ábalos, 19 and a half for the former advisor and 7 for Aldama, who has admitted the accusation.
The popular prosecutions, led by the PP, demand 30 years in prison for the former minister and his former advisor, and for the businessman they ask for the same sentence as that set by the Public Prosecutor's Office.