José Luis Abalos appeared on October 15 before the same Supreme Court judge, Leopoldo Puente, who decided on Thursday to send him to preventive custody. That day, the MP and former Minister of Transportation was released despite his attempt to stop work … Announcement and subsequent “visualization” of precautionary measures With a trick Which the coach did not like: he said that he was defenseless because his lawyer had just abandoned his defense and requested one defense ex officio.
He took advantage of his right not to testify, and then there were already indications of a crime against him, just as the assets report from the Central Operations Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil had just been issued. However, Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution He did not request pretrial detention. There is no financial bail to avoid imprisonment. He maintained the precautionary measures he had until now: preventing him from leaving the country, withdrawing his passport, and appearing in court. The same was decided for Koldo Garcia, despite popular accusations that called for imprisonment.
Judge Puente then blamed the former minister for the social “stupor” that led him to remain in office despite the evidence against him. ¿What has changed? So that the judge agreed this Thursday to send the former minister and his companion to prison? The two orders by which the interim measure was agreed upon, without bail, stated the reasons very clearly. The judge felt that “the time has come.”
First, on November 3, he himself issued an order ending the investigation of both of them and viewing the evidence to sentence them. Yesterday he pointed out that these indicators “Solid and crystalline”. He stressed that “these sufficient reasons or rational indicators of criminality now appear to be crystallized in the judicial decision that puts an end to the investigation stage of the procedure, and paves the way for what is called the intermediate stage.”
The judge noted that Abalos spent five years dealing with minerals of unknown origin and his international contacts
Secondly, he pointed out that the Anti-Corruption Public Prosecution filed the indictment against them eight days ago regarding the money and gifts of various kinds that they were able to collect from the commission agent, Victor de Aldama, in exchange for preferential treatment. With medical equipment contracts. Prosecutor Alejandro Luzon requested that Abalos be sentenced (before trial) to 24 years in prison and 19 and a half years to Koldo García for serious crimes of criminal organization, bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling. In the case of checkers, the order was reduced to seven. The judge said the severity of these sentences, amounting to more than ten years in prison, created a situation of “extreme risk” of flight by both, who may wish to evade the process of justice.
Cerdan case
Finally, the judge also held that the reasons why both had greater possibilities of evading the justice process were that Ábalos was placed as an accredited person and that both were under investigation in the other case relating to the alleged collection of illegal kickbacks for public works awards amounting to $1 million to Acciona in which Former Secretary General of PSOE Santos Cerdan. An investigation has just begun in practice and in which the UCO has just submitted a report containing abundant information incriminating Abalos, his advisor and the Navarrese politician.
In addition to all this, the judge mentioned yesterday in the order to imprison Abalos, how Flight risk argumentsAnd the anonymous metal money he handled – which allowed him to go for five years without withdrawing money from the bank – as well as his international connections.
“He was able to receive and handle large amounts of cash, such that for several years he did not need to make any withdrawals from his bank accounts, allowing us to reasonably conclude that he could have had sufficient financial resources to make and maintain the escape. And of course international communications for those who Mr. Abalos Miko This happened, not only because she owned some real estate in some Latin American country, as the popular impeachment lawyer noted in his report; Not only was he a founding partner of the Fidelso Foundation, with which he could continue to be associated with his family; Nor merely in view of the fact that he was periodically receiving income from one of his sons, which he appears to have received abroad – regardless of whether it was a loan or not, as his defense asserted at today’s hearing -.”