Eva Rodríguez
20 people were arrested on 21 February for collecting illegal commissions for the sale of health material at one of the deadliest moments of the pandemic. Among them, Koldo García Izaguirre, a collaborator of the socialist José Luis Ábalos during his time at the Ministry of Transport.
From left, in 2019, the then minister José Luis Ábalos and his advisor Koldo García. Source: Manuel Bruque (Agencia EFE)
The complaint was against 13 contracts carried out by the company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a las Empresas SL, which went from invoicing nothing in 2019, to around 54 million euros in 2020. The contracts were made in the context of the State of Pandemic Alarm and were destined for the governments of the Balearic and Canary Islands, as well as entities linked to the Ministries of Transport and Interior. After the institutions received the material, it was found that it was not suitable for use, since it was of inferior quality, however money claims were not carried out until 2023. To hide the money, it was sent to an account in Brazil or to a front company in Luxembourg to hide the large sums of money.
The most visible face in the case due to his relationship with the central government, Koldo García, acted as José Luis Ábalos' right-hand man during his time as transport minister. He started as a chauffeur and bodyguard and was later promoted to advisor. He was also a member of the board of directors of Renfe Cercanías from November 2019 to August 2021, as well as a member of the governing board of Puertos del Estado between 2019 and 2021. Although his CV is even more surprising, he has been a security guard, a doorman in a brothel and has been arrested for assault and battery on two occasions.
He would have used his influence by providing information about the procurement processes for the masks and charging millions of dollars for it. According to the Prosecutor's Office, this could be linked to the purchase of three properties in Benidorm: one in his name; another one in the name of his wife, Patricia Uriz Iriarte, who is also under investigation; and the third one in the name of his daughter, who is only two years old. Together with his wife, he has 138,000 euros in cash without justification.
The investigation, reported by El Confidencial and led by the Audiencia Nacional, began after a complaint by the Popular Party deputy and spokesman in the Assembly of Madrid, Alfonso Serrano, shortly after a similar case came to light involving the brother of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso.
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