22.06.2026 17:41
Jose Luis Abalos, who served as Spain's Minister of Transport from 2018 to 2021, was sentenced to 24 years and 3 months in prison for corruption in the purchase of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case, his advisor Koldo Garcia received 19 years and 8 months, while businessman Victor de Aldama was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison.
A verdict has been reached in the trial opened on grounds of irregularities in mask purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. Former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, the central figure in the corruption scandal that shook the country, has been sentenced by the Supreme Court to 24 years and 3 months in prison.
This historic sentence received by Abalos, who previously held top-level positions such as Parliamentary Spokesperson and Party Organization Secretary in the Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) led by current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has had an earthquake effect on Spanish politics.
MINISTER, ADVISOR, AND BUSINESSMAN TRIANGLE
The Supreme Court ruled that irregularities were committed in mask contracts worth approximately 13 million euros, also handing down penalties to accomplices:
Jose Luis Abalos (Former Minister): Sentenced to 24 years and 3 months in prison in the trial where he was prosecuted for the crimes of "organized crime, bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling."
Koldo Garcia (Minister's Advisor): Found guilty of the same crimes as the minister and sentenced to 19 years and 8 months in prison.
Victor de Aldama (Businessman): The businessman, who was determined to have made an unjust profit of 3.7 million euros from mask sales and was tried without detention, received a prison sentence of 4 years and 9 months. However, considering Aldama's confessions, his sentence was suspended on condition that he not commit further crimes and perform public service.
FROM THE STEPS OF POLITICS TO PRISON
After the scandal broke out, political balances in Spain were turned upside down. The downfall process of Abalos, once one of the strongest figures of the ruling party, unfolded as follows:
He resigned from his position as Transport Minister when the investigation began.
In February 2024, his membership in the ruling PSOE party was suspended.
16 months after this decision, he was completely expelled from the PSOE party, where he had once been at the summit.
These heavy sentences handed down by the court have gone down in history as one of the harshest legal blows in Spain's history against public officials who used emergency expenditures during the pandemic for their own interests.