Spanish justice tightens siege on former minister Ábalos, close to Pedro Sánchez

Madrid. José Luis Ábalos, former Minister of Development and former organizational secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), will be investigated and expected to be prosecuted by the Supreme Court for a series of acts of corruption, influence peddling, document falsification and abuse of power. The judge of the National Court of Spain, Ismael Moreno, instructor of the case, asked the high court to open proceedings against the former right-hand man of the current president of the government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, by placing him in the “main role” of the wide and widespread corruption plot, and being within his jurisdiction, having the status of authorized member, he took office as a deputy of the Cortes Generales, to which he acceded thanks to his former political party.

Today, former Minister Ábalos is a political “stinker”; He has no parliamentary group, his former party colleagues do not even speak to him and his former bosses shy away from any connection with him. Even more so when the actions of the courts and police investigations, especially those of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, are placed as the most responsible for a corruption network that also used its influence for massive purchases. of masks during the months of the pandemic, in at least seven ministries and four regional governments, in addition to maneuvering to condition the “rescue” with public funds of companies on the brink of bankruptcy. In exchange, Ábalos allegedly received numerous gifts outside the law, including payments of thousands of euros to his supposed “girlfriend,” who had to be paid up to 1,500 euros a day (30,000 pesos) for “accompanying” the man. politician on trips or meetings, apart from the two public jobs he had during Ábalos’ tenure in the ministry.

Judge Moreno is the investigator of the case, which was opened as a result of an investigation against Koldo García, who was the man closest to Ábalos during his period at the head of the ministry and the party. Ábalos was removed from the ministry by Sánchez himself in July 2021, although also by order of the current Spanish president he was one of the leaders of the PSOE on the electoral lists of the July 2023 elections, which allowed him to obtain a seat and, very important given your current situation, to achieve certified status.

Hence, the magistrate asked the Supreme Court to act against Ábalos given that he has “a clear and concrete accusation through a series of indications that show his alleged participation in crimes of membership in a criminal organization, influence peddling and bribery.”

When asked about the reasons for Ábalos’ dismissal as minister and why he kept him on the political front line of the party, President Sánchez responded at a press conference in Lisbon: “That profound government crisis that I caused at the ministerial level, made Indeed, that Ábalos would leave the Government of Spain in 2021. That is what I can say for the umpteenth time.”