Aldama will face trial on 17 February over bribery claims against Bolaños

A preliminary hearing and a trial date

A Madrid civil court held the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, 4 November, in the civil suit that Félix Bolaños, the minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, filed against Víctor de Aldama over claims Aldama made on television and social media. This stage gives the parties a chance to settle before the oral hearing. According to legal sources, no agreement was reached, so the case will go to trial on 17 February. Aldama was convicted by the Supreme Court in the mask case (caso mascarillas) and sentenced to four and a half years in prison, but the court suspended his entry into prison because of his alleged cooperation with the justice system. The suit alleges a violation of Bolaños's right to honour and seeks 70,000 euros in damages.

What Aldama alleged

The claims began on a Telemadrid program, where Aldama said he had been contacted through his head of communication, Ramón Bermejo, and offered a lot of money to keep quiet. The presenter asked whether the minister himself had called Bermejo, and Aldama answered yes.

“I was contacted through my head of communication, Ramón Bermejo, to be offered a lot of money so that I would keep quiet.”

Bermejo repeated the allegation on two television programs, saying the minister had tried to buy his silence. Bolaños filed his suit in May, after Aldama testified at the Supreme Court trial, and asked the court to condemn what he called falsehoods spread without evidence or basis.

A changed account and phone records

According to legal sources, Aldama has changed his account. He now acknowledges that the minister did not call Bermejo, and that three emissaries of the minister made the offer. His defense rests on Bermejo, who became his spokesman after leaving prison following a cooperation deal with the anti-corruption prosecutor. Aldama's side says Bermejo called numbers at the Socialist Party (PSOE) headquarters on Ferraz and several government departments in the Moncloa Palace between March and July 2024, when the money was allegedly offered. The three phone bills Aldama supplied, however, show only calls Bermejo made to the switchboards of the Congress of Deputies and the PSOE, with no incoming calls, lasting from a few seconds to two minutes, according to the same sources.

Bolaños's position and what comes next

When he announced the suit in May, Bolaños said he did not know Aldama at all and had never spoken with him.

“I do not have his mobile phone, nor his, nor that of the person who says he is his spokesman.”

The minister says the only evidence Aldama offers is a photograph from a birthday party of former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison in the Supreme Court trial. The suit also asks that Aldama be ordered to refrain from making similar statements in the media, on digital platforms or by any other means. The civil trial on 17 February will decide whether Aldama violated the minister's right to honour. The timeline below lists the dates reported so far.