National Court judge Santiago Pedraz agreed to summon as witnesses Marc Pons, former chief of staff of former Minister of Ecological Transition Teresa Ribera, and Juan Ignacio Díaz Bidart, former chief of staff of the ministry. … d’Indistria at the time of Reyes Maroto, as part of the investigation opened for “multi-million dollar” VAT fraud in the hydrocarbon sector in which businessman Víctor de Aldama as leader of the conspiracyalso prosecuted in the Mascarillas case before the Supreme Court.
In a judgment to which ABC had access, the president of the Central Court of Instruction number 5 accepts the prosecutor’s request in the case and places two declarations on January 28. The Public Ministry requested these testimonies in light of the new report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard published a few days ago and which indicated that this criminal group had “penetrated” into several ministries and that it had spent “1 kilo” to buy political wills.
In addition to these two chiefs of staff, the judge also summons Claudio Rivas, Aldama associate and principal investigator alongside the businessman, on January 28. The UCO says the conspiracy used the Villafuel company’s wholesale operator license to commit the fraud through “fake” third-party suppliers.
Already on January 29 he summoned Víctor de Áldama as an investigator and on January 30 he also investigated Carmen Pano – the businesswoman who said she brought 90,000 euros in bags to the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz – and her daughter Leonor González Pano.
This new series of declarations includes Manuel García Hernández, general director of energy policy and mineswith whom Aldama allegedly attempted mediation to obtain the Villafuel license; Manuel Sallés Carceller, administrator of the company Instalíbero District SL where Koldo García was hired; and Álvaro Gallego, a person who, according to the police report, could be linked to the 108,500 euros withdrawn in cash in December 2020 by Carmen Pano from the account of a company called Ornus Import SL.
Transition believed UCO was confused
Remember that, following the UCO report, sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition explained to ABC that Manuel García Hernández never spoke or had any contact with Víctor de Aldama. They understand that the UCO could have been confused with a person, because the cited messages from Aldama dated March 2021 are addressed to another person “who shares a first and last name with the senior ministry official, but not the second name, Manuel García Maroto.”
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