A Spanish judge has ordered the Civil Guard to hand over the file detailing the award given to businessman Victor de Aldama in October 2022. Judge ismael Moreno, presiding over the Koldo case, issued the order after a request from the popular accusation represented by Hazte Oír.
The judge also requested the Ministry of the Interior to provide the complete file of Commander Rubén Villalba, a key figure in the inquiry. Villalba, who was stationed at UCE2, a unit focused on counterterrorism where De Aldama had been a collaborator since 2019, was later appointed attaché of the Spanish Embassy in Venezuela. The judge believes “that the data in both files may be of interest” to the ongoing investigation.
This development comes after Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska assured the Senate on Tuesday that the file regarding De Aldama’s award demonstrates his longstanding relationship with the Ministry of the Interior, dating back to at least 2017. “it is an award for Víctor de Aldama’s relationship with the Ministry of the Interior since 2017,” Grande-Marlaska stated, emphasizing that this collaboration predates the award by five years.
“It is worth remembering that this same week the instructor of the Koldo case has taken statements as witnesses from several of Villalba’s subordinates who have confirmed that the commander asked them to enter cash in some of your accounts.Another of those agents also detailed that Villalba frequently asked him to buy phones for him—they were allegedly used for De Aldama to have secure communications.”
Judge Clarifies Hazte Oír’s Request Regarding Villalba
Hazte Oír had argued that accessing Villalba’s file was crucial to understanding “the merits that were valued and the functions to be developed” in his role. They also requested access to “the integrity of the documentation seized in the various records, and the entire dump of data from emails and messages from electronic devices” used by the Civil guard in their reports.
However, the judge determined that providing this information at this stage is not appropriate.”As there are private data and documents of the investigated persons that have no relevance for the clarification of the facts that are the subject of these proceedings, thus, it is indeed necessary, first, to proceed with their expurgation,” the judge stated.
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