Koldo invokes his right not to testify

Supreme Court Judge Leopoldo Puente is questioning former Transport Minister and former advisor Koldo García this Monday, following the progress of his investigation, which has already escalated into the alleged distribution of bribes for possible irregular public works contracts.

Former Transport Ministry advisor Koldo García today exercised his right not to testify before the Supreme Court (TS) after Judge Leopoldo Puente rejected his latest attempt to postpone his appearance on Monday, prompted by the report from the Civil Guard's Central Operational Unit (UCO) that implicates him, along with former minister José Luis Ábalos and former PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán , in an alleged public works rigging scheme.

Legal sources have confirmed to Europa Press that García's defense team has opted for this option after unsuccessfully requesting to suspend his appearance "until he has full access and a complete copy of the court proceedings in the case, allowing at least a month to clarify the matter, given its complexity."

García arrived at the Salesas Palace around 11:30 a.m. amid great expectation, not only from the media but also from those who had come to the courthouse, with around a dozen people greeting him with shouts of "corrupt" and "shameless." The same thing happened shortly beforehand with Ábalos, who also arrived half an hour before his appearance, scheduled for 10:00 a.m., which is still ongoing.

In a letter from this Monday, to which Europa Press has had access, García's new lawyer requested a postponement, considering it necessary because she had not been provided with a full copy of the proceedings to date, which, in her opinion, prevented her from "fully exercising her right to an effective defense."

The lawyer urged the Supreme Court to "urgently facilitate all the proceedings in order to guarantee the full exercise of the right to defense."

The judge responded with the same urgency, agreeing that "there is no reason to change the schedule," as he has indicated in response to repeated requests to postpone this appearance before the Supreme Court, which will be the second after the one held on December 17.

The investigating judge himself emphasized that this is the third time he has requested a postponement of this appearance, "alleging the existence of accusations concerning the lawyer, whose defense attorney he allegedly resigned from." He reminded him that "it is not up to the person under investigation to organize this court's agenda," and therefore urged him to "appear on the date and time set."

A preliminary hearing was also held this Monday. According to legal sources consulted, the Prosecutor's Office has requested that the current measures be maintained—a ban on leaving the country, revocation of passports, and periodic court appearances. Meanwhile, the Popular Party (PP)-led prosecution has requested provisional detention.

These are the same requests that the accusations made against Ábalos, who testified for an hour and a half this Monday to distance himself from the alleged irregularities in public works contracts. The former minister also asserted that he does not recognize himself in the recordings made by Koldo between 2019 and 2023, which were included by the UCO in its latest report.

So far, the investigating judge has not responded to the prosecution's requests, but sources consulted maintain that he is expected to rule on the precautionary measures for both defendants this Monday.

Former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos today denied before the judge investigating him at the Supreme Court that he had received any bribes or participated in irregular contract awards.

Ábalos remained before the judge for an hour and a half, including the hearing of precautionary measures, given that the popular accusations, whose legal counsel is led by the People's Party (PP), have requested that he be held in prison without bail, although the prosecutor has requested that the measures against him be maintained, which are a ban on leaving Spain, the revocation of his passport, and court appearances.

" I don't recognize myself ," he said in relation to the audio recordings included in the case file that link him to these possible irregularities, which is why he has not cooperated with the justice system, as had been rumored in the previous hours, according to various legal sources who spoke to Efe.