He says that he now finds out from the “backroom” of what he thought was a “successful” contract and that he entrusted the contracts to the undersecretary
The former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos assured this Monday that he entrusted the entire matter of contracting for the purchase of medical supplies in a pandemic to the undersecretary of the ministry, Jesús Manuel Gómez García, he has questioned whether a ‘Koldo plot’ exists and You have asked “where commissions are not charged.” He has also admitted that he knew one of those involved in the investigation for the collection of commissions, Víctor de Aldama, because he was an advisor to Air Europa.
This was explained during his appearance before the Senate commission investigating the alleged case of bribe collection for the awarding of public contracts during a pandemic for which Koldo García Izaguirre, who was his advisor in the Ministry of Transportation, was arrested in February.
Regarding Koldo’s role, he has indicated that he was one of the five advisors he appointed as minister, and that he used to accompany him on his “movements”, but that he was not one of those who was on a “day-to-day basis” and that there were days in that didn’t even coincide with him.
The now deputy of the Mixed Group of Congress has assured that it is not “clear” that there was “any plot” and, when asked if he informed Koldo of his efforts, he responded that he dispatched everything that had to do with the contracts with the undersecretary for being the one who “deserved the most trust” since he had been auditor of the Treasury.
“Although it is true that the hiring procedures were made absolutely flexible, that does not mean that it can be done outside the law or with the proper clauses, and therefore I turned to the undersecretary,” he detailed, recalling that he had appointed him without knowing him beforehand because he imposed “a lot of respect” on hiring matters.
After emphasizing that “absolutely all management” was carried out by the undersecretary, he stressed that he has always been “happy with his management.” “I entrusted everything to him and he was also the one who decided to direct the hiring around the companies that had a budget at the time,” said the former minister, citing the contracts with Puertos del Estado and Adif.
INFORMED TO NATIONAL SECURITY
“I will tell you that I have not had any knowledge of all the other purchases, in fact, now I have looked at the audit report of the Court of Accounts to come to this commission and I have seen that Aena, Renfe and Correos also purchased medical supplies. All of this in some way depended on the Ministry and they did not buy it from this company, everyone bought where they wanted,” he indicated in reference to Soluciones de Gestión, the company involved in the plot.
Furthermore, at another time, he commented that precisely on his way to the Senate he had remembered that he was aware of the “contracting and the characteristics of contracting the Department of Homeland Security.”
Regarding Víctor de Aldama, he admits that he knew him, especially because he was an advisor to Air Europa, and he knew that this supposed ringleader of the plot got along very well with Koldo García, something that, as he has said, he did not particularly like and preferred that they would not be seen in the Ministry.
HE HIRED KOLDO’S WIFE TO CONCILATE
As he has said, it was as a result of the case that he learned that he apparently had collected commissions for the Management Solutions contracts, but he has made it clear that he never dealt with him and Koldo about them. “I would never have lent it,” she said.
Regarding the hiring of the wife of Begoña Uriz, Koldo García’s wife, in Transport, he revealed that he hired her because Koldo asked him “to be able to have the family in Madrid” and “make peace” and that he earned 1,400 euros per month. Regarding the hiring at Emfesa of Joseba García Izaguirre, Koldo’s brother, he has limited himself to pointing out that he believes that he joined the company after he left Transport and that he does not remember “having brought anyone” into that company.
Ábalos has refused to define Koldo as a “brothel doorman” and has presented him as a “private security worker.” “He has worked with people who I think would not be interested in linking him to that area (that of prostitution),” he has warned, remembering that he also did it for some right-wing politician.
THE GOVERNMENT, “ABOVE” THE “COLEGUEL” IN THE PARTY
As he revealed, when all the departments were looking for medical supplies, the then Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, asked him to act carefully because there was “a lot of scam.” The then head of Transportation has also said he was unaware of the visit that Koldo made to Illa at the ministry to offer her to contract with Management Solutions and that the former minister revealed in the Senate.
“I didn’t know anything about that, if Illa says it I trust it and it seems bad to me that she would have done it,” he indicated, warning that no matter how many “colleagues” there were in the party, the Government “is above it” and there is than to “act differently.”
In any case, he has taken advantage of this point to boast that, unlike what other administrations did, Transport “did not advance money” for contracts for medical supplies because payment was blocked until the orders arrived and their quality had been examined.
For this reason, he has declared himself “very happy” because “public money” was not put at risk, quality was guaranteed and material was purchased “at a price sometimes three times lower than what others paid.” Now it turns out that there were commissions. and where not?” asked Ábalos, who pointed out that he deduced the “solvency” of Management Solutions because, unlike others, “they were able to anticipate the cost of the operation.”
COLLECTOR OF “DECEPTIONS”
For Ábalos, everything related to these contracts was “a successful experience.” “But nothing is known about the backroom of the successful operations and I am finding out about all this now,” he responded to the question of why Aldama had the offer for his ministry four days before the order was approved by the that the ministry was allowed to contract.
On several occasions he has refused to act as a “judge” and “ratify” the “existence” of a “plot” that, in any case, will be “alleged.” “I am not going to undermine anyone’s right to defense,” Ábalos stated when questioned about Koldo. He has also not gone into judging the signs of personal enrichment of his former advisor, emphasizing that this occurred after both left the Ministry.
Some senators have focused on whether they felt “disappointed” with Koldo García: “I have many disappointments, but they are mine.” “I’ve had so many disappointments lately that it seems like I’m collecting disappointments,” he said at another time. Furthermore, in another part of the interrogation, when he was asked about Koldo, he acknowledged that there were “other things” that he did not “like”, implying that he was referring to the fact that he sometimes made offers of help. According to him, he warned him that “sometimes help is misunderstood.”
