Corruption scandal in Spain. The Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the former minister

On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a decision to arrest Jose Luis Abalos, former Minister of Transport and a close associate of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in connection with the high-profile corruption scandal regarding rigging tenders for protective masks during the pandemic.

The judge agreed to the prosecutor's request for pre-trial detention without bail due to the “very high” risk of fleeing from justice.

Abalos' associate, Koldo Garcia, from whom the “Koldo scandal” is named, related to the rigging of public tenders for the supply of protective masks during the Covid-19 pandemic, will also be arrested.

The prosecutor's office is demanding 24 years in prison for Abalos and 19.5 years for Koldo Garcia.

Abalos was the head of the Ministry of Transport in 2018-2021, and one of Sanchez's closest collaborators.

A week before the court's decision to arrest him, Santos Cerdan, Sanchez's right-hand man in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), also accused of corruption, was released from pretrial detention after five months.

Corruption is a constant problem in Spain. In 2018, one of the largest corruption scandals in the country's history, known as the Guertel scandal, contributed to the fall of the government of Mariano Rajoy of the conservative People's Party (PP), which marked the beginning of the PSOE's ongoing rule.

From Madrid Marcin Furdyna (PAP)

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