The Civil Guard already points to a “privileged situation” for Víctor Aldama due to his alleged links with Moncloa. The same week that the contractor once again threatens to take papers that, he says, would affect the President of the Executive, the summary of the “fuel plot” points to his “contacts with the Government.”
The UCO, which already confirmed that the businessman had a “special pass” in the Ministry of Transportation of José Luis Ábalos, now speaks of ties with the Executive. In fact, he appeals to these alleged links to justify the reasons why Claudio Rivas, his partner in this corruption plot, approached him. From the summary of the procedure, to which LA RAZÓN has had access, it appears that the owner of Villafuel, the key company in the network, urged him to seek a meeting with the Government to obtain the hydrocarbon operator license.
The investigators rely not only on the documents seized from the plot, but also on the testimony of Carmen Pano. The businesswoman, who confessed to having taken 90,000 euros to the PSOE headquarters, revealed in great detail before the Civil Guard in December how these meetings with the Ministry of Industry were taking place. Specifically, he explained that Aldama told him in 2020 – the same year in which the million-dollar pandemic contracts were signed – that he had begun planning meetings in the department then directed by Reyes Maroto.
Maroto and Ribera, the ministers splashed
The meeting took place in January 2021 and was attended by, among others, Pano herself, Claudio Rivas, and Koldo García, former advisor to Ábalos. There they were received by Juan Ignacio Díaz Bidart, chief of staff of the then minister. Once the meeting was over, Bidart told them that when they had all the documentation, they should present it electronically and give a copy to Koldo García who, despite not having any ties or duties with this department, would send it to them.
Once the documentary was assembled, the alleged criminal organization presented it to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, even knowing that they did not meet the requirements to obtain the license. The Civil Guard highlights in this regard that in this management they sought to get Aldama to promote an “open channel” through Koldo García so that he, in turn, would act as interlocutor with the Ministry.
But mediation did not come free. The contractor spoke of “compensation” and, specifically, of Ábalos’s alleged intention for the plot to buy him a vacation home in La Alcaidesa. It was acquired through the company Have Got Time for a total amount of 585,000 euros. The firm, of which Pano’s daughter is the administrator, was created in the process of obtaining the license in 2021 and, in just two years, it accumulated a debt with the Treasury of 49 million euros.
Aldama’s “strategy”
The plans of the alleged criminal organization were truncated after the sudden dismissal of Ábalos. The UCO highlights in this regard that their departure from the Ministry and, therefore, the loss of influence they sought to obtain the license, made them change their “strategy.” In fact, they resolved the rental contract for the Cádiz house, making it clear that, once their cycle in the Executive ended, relations were severed.
In this second stage, they promoted transactions between the companies in the scheme to capitalize it and solve the financial problems that prevented obtaining the license. Finally, the Ministry of Teresa Ribera authorized Villafuel on September 15, 2020. In its initial complaint, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office stated that it was granted without “apparently” meeting the financial requirements that the regulations demand.
What’s more, the Public Ministry maintains that “the fraudulent operation” that affects three Ministries could not have been carried out if it had not obtained the Executive’s license. The Tax Agency detected fraud amounting to 182 million euros in just two years. The mechanism consisted of simulating the sale of fuel to intermediary companies although, in reality, the oil was supplied directly to the final customers, so that the VAT fees corresponding to said activity were saved.
The irregular profits obtained were hidden from the treasury and diverted abroad through shell companies. So far, the Civil Guard has detected transfers abroad for an amount close to 74 million euros. Of them, 68 million were channeled in Portugal; 4.6 million in China and 646,000 euros in Colombia. Similarly, movement of funds has been detected in Luxembourg and Switzerland, the country where María Luisa Rivas opened bank accounts in the name of her minor children. Part of the millionaire profits returned to Spain through money laundering operations that the UCO continues to investigate.