Ábalos acknowledges that the plot "became interested" in the multimillion-dollar rescue of Air Europa as Aldama was an "advisor" to Globalia

CARLOS SEGOVIA Madrid

Madrid

Updated Wednesday, February 28, 2024-14:07

The former Minister of Transport,

José Luis Ábalos

, recognizes that the plot that is being investigated for the now called

Koldo case

had an interest in the multimillion-dollar state rescue of Air Europa going forward.

In statements on Onda Cero, Ábalos has admitted that

Víctor de Aldama

- one of those investigated for complicity with his advisor in the cabinet,

Koldo García

- "was interested" in the state injection into the pandemic to Air Europa, but has denied that such intervention had significance, because he assured that the Government was clear that the airline was "strategic" and, therefore, deserving of the rescue.

This newspaper already published this Monday that Aldama offered itself as a

contractor

to regulated companies and that one of its clients was Globalia, parent company of Air Europa.

What did you do with this company?

Globalia has finally given an explanation to this newspaper about the role of this Koldo partner.

"

The relationship began in 2018 and an advisory contract was made in September 2019

," he says.

That the relationship already existed in those years there is proof with the image that illustrates this information and that was disseminated at the time by

Alejandro Murat

, then governor of Oaxaca, after a meeting with the shareholder of Globalia,

Javier Hidalgo

and Aldama himself, to that there were air routes from Spain with this Mexican state.

A similar image was published by

The Objective

this Tuesday.

Ábalos himself previously supported these new routes in a meeting with Murat himself in which Koldo himself and Aldama participated together with the minister, in the official Spanish delegation, as shown in the image published on Monday by this newspaper.

At Globalia they do not deny that the payments to Aldama amounted to around 10,000 euros per month, as

El Confidencial

has published , and that they consisted of remunerating him for advisory work on opening international routes, among other matters that they do not specify.

In the company chaired by

Juan José Hidalgo

, Javier's father, they claim to not know if Aldama intervened in the granting of the rescue by the Government and deny that his advisory work was for that purpose.

According to this version, Aldama was an advisor to Globalia between September 2019 and approximately the same month of 2020, therefore, during a critical period for the company.

On November 3, 2020 and after overcoming all the procedures with the State Society of Industrial Participations (Sepi) in the previous months, the Council of Ministers approved a colossal rescue of Air Europa

worth 475 million

, through state loans with a long term of lack.

Ábalos participated in that decision by issuing favorable reports due to the importance of Air Europa for the transport of passengers.

Later he also supported a concession of 53 million to Plus Ultra.

Air Europa's relationship with Aldama also extended to the transportation of masks to public organizations, such as the Balearic Government, but "at market prices and normally as with other clients," according to Globalia.