The National Court investigates a fictitious contract of 15 million euros linked to the alleged irregular financing of the PSOE. The document was provided by businessman Víctor de Aldama in the secret piece in which Judge Ismael Moreno traces the accounts of the group led by Pedro Sánchez and, as EL MUNDO has learned, it is being analyzed by the instructor and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
Along with this document, related to the commercialization of the millionaire quota of Venezuelan oil detected by the Civil Guard in the hydrocarbons case - the envelope that was in the possession of Aldama and that was also delivered by the businessman to the Justice -, he testified before the magistrate that he made an important delivery of cash to Koldo García to defray the expenses of the party and the Socialist International at the request of the former advisor of José Luis Ábalos.
These funds came, according to Aldama's testimony, from a first advance payment from the Venezuelan state oil company that were channeled through an international network of companies and simulated contracts.
This is one of the central lines of investigation of the investigation that the National Court is currently developing, along with that of the smurfing of cash in Ferraz that gave rise to the initiation of the procedure.
The 15 million contract, which is already in the possession of investigators, dates back to the end of 2019 and includes, on the one hand, the company Apamate Corporate and Trust, S.L., controlled by the Venezuelan businessman Francisco Flores - linked to the Plus Ultra case where the former president of the Government José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is accused. Through this entity, the Apamate company agreed to pay the aforementioned amount of 15 million to Aldama for the commercialization of Venezuelan oil. However, the true objective of the operations was camouflaged in the agreement.
The license to market six million barrels of crude oil, Aldama maintains, was personally provided to him by the current president in charge Delcy Rodríguez for a value of 249 million dollars in February 2020, but he specifies that there were advance payments. Rodríguez flatly denies this and, as this newspaper reported, he has already taken legal action against the businessman through the law firm of Baltasar Garzón, which has announced the filing of a complaint for defamation.
According to Aldama's story before the head of the Investigative Court number 2 of the National Court, the former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García told him before Delcy Rodríguez's visit to Spain to obtain funds for the party, since they were looking for ways to finance Ferraz. According to the version given by the businessman, these funds were urgently needed.
Cash delivery to Koldo
Aldama argues that he personally managed this request with the then vice president of Nicolás Maduro and that PDVSA articulated a first transfer. This operation amounted to 5 million and was channeled through Russia, as El Español revealed and this newspaper has been able to confirm. Of this first delivery, at least 300,000 euros were diverted to Aldama's bank accounts in Spain.
The businessman has detailed in his testimonies, secretly provided last March and July - in this second judicial summons is when he has provided more details - that he took out those funds in cash and handed them over to Koldo García. This operation, as Aldama explained in the National Court, was much more ambitious and had the objective of diverting millionaire amounts from the PSOE and the Socialist International.
As he already pointed out in his statement in the Supreme Court during the first trial of the Ábalos plot, Aldama maintains that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, was aware and places him again at the top of the criminal organization for which he himself has recently been sentenced to four and a half years in prison, achieving a highly qualified mitigation of the facts due to his collaboration with Justice. Aldama's sentence was suspended by the court after appreciating his "full and continuous cooperation" with the investigation by having provided "truthful and relevant" information and "means of evidence" to prove the crimes committed.
Both the contract and copies of the different transfers made are currently in the possession of Judge Ismael Moreno and the Public Ministry, and the investigations are now trying to determine whether, in fact, the funds from Venezuelan oil ended up in the socialist coffers, according to sources consulted in the case.
Shortly before these monetary operations, Ábalos met in Madrid with Jorge Rodríguez, brother of the president in charge of Venezuela and at that time Minister of Communication. That meeting could be held in a central Madrid cafe because, unlike what happened with Delcy, who landed in Madrid in the early hours of January 19 to 20, 2020, there was no ban on him from entering the European Union.
Rodríguez expressly asked Ábalos to both establish "a permanent communication channel" and for Sánchez's Executive to reject Juan Guaidó as president in charge of the country, as had been recognized by the EU. Or what is the same, that the socialist Government broke any type of contact with the Venezuelan opposition. Months later, Sánchez refused to meet with the opponent.
Foreign policy
Among the extremes that this secret investigation is trying to prove is whether the payments allegedly received by Koldo from Aldama for the party influenced the change in the Government's foreign policy with gestures in favor of the Maduro Regime.
On the other hand, different research sources consulted indicate that the instruction is advancing regarding cash payments in Ferraz. According to Aldama, these black funds came from builders who financed the PSOE in exchange for access to large public works rigging. The amount paid did not correspond to a percentage of the work, but was agreed on a case-by-case basis. The construction companies gave the money to Aldama, who sent it to Koldo and Ábalos. These camouflaged the income from those funds to the PSOE accounts under the concept of donations.
For its part, the Court has already analyzed the documentation required and delivered by Pedro Sánchez's party to the judge and has ordered new procedures to be carried out due to the discrepancy in data detected. The transfer of cash envelopes remains unclear for Judge Moreno and prosecutor Luis Pastor despite the explanations given by Ferraz.
The informing sources also indicate that the case will remain secret for a few more months as they are waiting to receive various reports from the UCO, among other procedures.
