Juan Carlos Cueto defends that the medical supplies were sold according to the market price and that the profit margin was slim.
MADRID, 28 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The businessman Juan Carlos Cueto, the alleged ‘brain’ of the company to which the mask contracts investigated by the National Court were awarded, has assured the judge of the ‘Koldo case’ that he tried to help the Spaniards with his actions and did not take advantage of the sale of medical supplies.
As legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press, in his statement as an investigator before the head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 2 Cueto has referred to a report prepared by the consulting firm KPMG in 2021 that would conclude that the sales prices of masks were in line with the market, adding that they had little economic profit margin.
Other sources consulted indicate that Cueto – who has only responded to questions from his lawyer – has detailed that it was a very expensive operation and involved many trips to China, in which Spanish certification companies would have participated to account for the material of the product –among them Bureau Veritas.
After his statement before the judge, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has requested the withdrawal of Cueto’s passport, a request that has not been opposed by his defense and to which the popular accusations made by PP and Vox have adhered. Since there is no opposition to it, the judge is expected to agree to it this Thursday.
It is worth remembering that the Public Ministry places Cueto as the “person who really controls the company Soluciones de Gestión, part of the Cueto group”, although it appears to be owned by another of those investigated, the Basque businessman Íñigo Rotaeche. Cueto, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, would have pocketed 9.6 million euros.
In this sense, Anticorruption details in its complaint “the leadership that Cueto” exercises over the group that bears his last name, “being ultimately responsible for the decisions concerning this business group.” The main investigators, they add, gave news and asked Cueto for permission “for the execution of loans and decision-making.”
The Prosecutor’s Office makes it clear that there was “a direct and close relationship” between the former advisor and former bodyguard of former Minister José Luis Ábalos, Koldo García, and Cueto himself, “which is not limited solely to the awarding of contracts.”
The deputy legal secretary of Vox, Marta Castro, explained in statements to the press that Cueto has not given “any explanation beyond having carried out an even altruistic action in defense of the lives of Spaniards and that they had little margin for economic benefit.” .
When asked by the media, Castro explained that Cueto “said that of course his intention had not been to take advantage, but rather to help Spain, the Spanish people.”
However, the training led by Santiago Abascal has indicated that “reports, budgets, the price of masks and suppliers must be deeply analyzed.” “It is a very meticulous work and right now I do not have all the data to be able to offer you a firmer conclusion,” he noted.
Asked if they are considering calling former Minister José Luis Ábalos to testify – his former bodyguard and former advisor, Koldo García, is one of the main people under investigation – Castro has acknowledged that “it is hasty” because they must first analyze the summary of the case. .
“But of course, based on the experience of other judicial actions, we do not rule it out. When an investigation is opened, we have to see what lines of investigation can be followed and clarify all the responsibilities of those who may be linked,” he added.
Anticorruption assures that Soluciones de Gestión “would have been used as an instrumental company in a common project” between the president of Zamora CF, Víctor de Aldama, and Cueto himself, “who, despite not appearing in documents, would have been responsible” for the crimes. contracts about which the judge is investigating.
The Public Ministry assures that Koldo was the person they used to “expedite” procedures with the Ministry of Transportation in the contracting during the pandemic for the sale of masks, specifically facilitating the processes of awarding medical supplies to the company Soluciones de Management.
The aforementioned complaint from the Prosecutor’s Office contains conversations extracted from the telephone taps that the investigators carried out. “This was a favor that your neighbor (Koldo) was asking… him and his former boss… and it seems that the other one has said yes… because they have given him another favor in return,” he said. Cueto told Rotaeche, who was a person he “trusted.” The Prosecutor’s Office does not clarify which former Koldo boss it is referring to.
Although shortly before his arrest the relationship between Koldo and Aldama was still latent through third parties, the Public Ministry assures that both did maintain a relationship “during the awarding of the investigated contracts.” That same month of September, Koldo went to Cueto to talk about Aldama: “He solved the problems I had to be able to execute and bring what I needed from outside.”
For Anticorruption, it can be deduced that “Koldo could be alluding to Aldama’s intermediation in the acquisition of masks within the framework of the investigated awards.” “And the most significant thing is that he does so speaking in the first person,” the Prosecutor’s Office points out, pointing out that in many talks those investigated refer to the president of Zamora as a “commission agent” in front of the Public Administration.
In this sense, the Prosecutor’s Office makes it clear that Cueto and Aldama still had “common issues, some of them relevant” in the context of the case a month before the outbreak of the operation. Specifically, on January 26, Aldama “would have given Cueto some object” that Aldama himself referred to as “chorizos.”
For Anticorrupción, it is striking that a few days later Cueto told Koldo that he was with Aldama, “who would have given him something that they would talk about in person.” In addition, Cueto informed him – in relation to Aldama – that “the waters can return to their channel.” According to the Prosecutor’s Office, this would imply that the three investigated “continue to have common issues to discuss.”
The order also records the conversation that Cueto had with an Aldama worker in relation to a summons that the latter had to appear before the Tax Agency. In the same talk, Cueto warns that people who were going to testify in response to this type of subpoenas should do so with legal assistance.
“As soon as someone goes there and starts going and cutting, they have a problem,” Cueto snapped. “This fear,” according to the Prosecutor’s Office, “could be linked to Aldama being considered a commission agent in the eyes of the Tax Agency.”
In this regard, Rotaeche explained to Cueto that the Tax Agency inspector wanted to summon the partners and administrators of Soluciones de Gestiones to appear before him.
“During the call, they allude to the actuary’s alleged intentions with this inspection, stating that the actuary would not admit the payment to Aldama as an expense to Soluciones de Gestión because they would have paid a hidden commission to Aldama for his contacts in the Ministry. “explains Anticorruption.
