Spain's Supreme Court has sentenced former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos to 24 years in prison for corruption. Abalos, a close ally of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, was convicted of offences including criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling. The crimes were linked to the rigging of public contracts for medical supplies, such as face masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abalos's aide, Koldo Garcia, was sentenced to 19 years in prison. Businessman Victor de Aldama received a four-and-a-half-year sentence, which the court suspended in recognition of his cooperation in uncovering the scheme. This suspension is conditional on de Aldama completing one year of community service, submitting biannual activity reports, and not reoffending.
The trial is one of several graft cases involving the entourage of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, marking a major blow to the leader who came to power eight years ago by ousting a corruption-plagued centre-right government on the promise of cleaning up politics. While Sanchez himself has not been named in any of the cases, the decision compounds a crisis for his circle. Sanchez has described the scandals as part of a campaign to oust him.