There are several factors that prompted Judge Leopoldo Puente to agree to send Jose Luis Abalos and Koldo Garcia to prison. But it all revolves around her “Extreme” risk of trying to escape Spain to avoid justice procedures. In the decisions he issued Thursday, the Superior Court judge focused on the potential hidden funds and “international connections” of Abalos and Koldo Garcia, which could facilitate their escape from an impending trial in which they face possible sentences of up to 30 years in prison.
Pretrial detention without bail is a precautionary measure, and it is the most burdensome of all. It was not designed as a punishment, but rather as a necessary decision to ensure the correct development of the criminal process. When a judge approves a precautionary measure, he must weigh the risks that arise and the infringements of rights involved. It must also take into account the seriousness of the crimes charged and the nature of the evidence present.
The risks assessed when adopting such a procedure are the risk of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, the risk of repetition of the crime being investigated, and the risk of escape. In the case of Abalos and Koldo Garcia, the judge concluded that there was a high risk of flight based on the criteria set by the Code of Criminal Procedure: the nature of the event; The seriousness of the penalty that could be imposedOr family, work, or economic situation and the proximity of the oral trial date.
First of all, Leopoldo Puente points out the state of the process. He noted that an oral trial would be held “in the coming months” and stressed that the Anti-Corruption and Popular Prosecutor’s Office had demanded very high prison sentences by attributing “two serious crimes” to Abalos. Furthermore, since it was a trial in the Supreme Court, the final judgment would not be subject to appeal and would result in “immediate compliance therewith.”
“Based on the premise of guilt”The judge notes that Abalos could face a prison sentence of twelve and a half years at best, if the sentences are imposed “at the minimum level of legal expression.” The sentence could be longer, given that the anti-corruption prosecution is demanding 24 years in prison and 30 years for the popular charges.
The judge expresses the same reasoning regarding the case of Koldo Garcia. In his opinion, the “increased risk” of escape was “unsustainable.” In the case of the former advisor, Extension of sentences Required results So relevant that it stands alone“Up to nineteen years and six months in prison” in the case of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“Large amounts of cash”
Regardless of the significance of the sentences, the judge focuses on the possibilities of Abalos and Koldo Garcia fleeing Spain. In reference to the minister, he highlights the possibility that he hid funds from the Koldo case bribes or obtained them from his son Victor Albalos, and also indicates his authority “International communications”. “It cannot be ignored” that Abalos “was able to receive and manage large sums of cash,” so much so that “for several years he did not need to make any deposits into his bank accounts.”
This allows the judge to “reasonably infer” what Abalos could “get.” Sufficient economic resources to carry out and sustain the escape“. It is also “obvious” to the judge that Abalos and his former advisor have contacts abroad. Thus, he confirmed that Abalos has “some real estate in some Latin American countries” and has links to the “Fidelso Foundation”, of which he is the founder.
Moreover, the judge explains that the former Minister of Transport “periodically received income from one of his children, which he apparently obtained abroad.” He adds that there is “no reason” to believe that the MP cannot access these “same funds” to facilitate his escape from the country. Added to all this are the relationships that Abalos “managed to establish” with foreign “authorities,” “individuals,” and “companies” when he was head of the Ministry of Transport.
The judge also considers it proven that Koldo Garcia may have hidden money. In this sense, he points out that it has been years “He came assumed, in an incomprehensible way and did not explain it himself,” Abalos expenses. The Ezcolari also have “international contacts” outside Spain, explains Leopoldo Puente.
Garcia’s defense explained on Thursday that the former chancellor has a five-year-old daughter, is married, has siblings and a mother to take care of in Benidorm. Presumably this would “provide him with enough roots in Spain to rule out the possibility of escape.” But the judge believes that “any of the aforementioned relatives can travel to meet them if they wish to do so.” Koldo García himself “could prefer to temporarily separate from his family to personally avoid this very unfavorable scenario.”