Spain's Supreme Court upholds Ábalos and Koldo García sentences in face mask case
Spain's Supreme Court rejected nullity motions from former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his ex-adviser Koldo García on Wednesday, 14 October 2026. The ruling leaves their June convictions in place and opens the way to constitutional appeals.
The ruling
Spain's Supreme Court on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, rejected the nullity motions (incidentes de nulidad) filed by former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser Koldo García against the June sentence that convicted them. The Criminal Chamber issued two rulings (autos) dismissing the arguments raised in both motions, and El Confidencial reported that the decision was unanimous. The June judgment imposed 24 years and three months in prison on Ábalos and 19 years and eight months on García. The convictions cover criminal organisation, bribery, influence peddling and embezzlement linked to contracts for face masks awarded during the pandemic.
- Supreme Court trial of Ábalos, García and Víctor de Aldama held between April and May
- Supreme Court publishes sentence: 24 years and three months for Ábalos, 19 years and eight months for García
- Supreme Court rejects nullity motions, opening the route to constitutional appeals
Prosecutors' objection and the defence arguments
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had asked the court to reject both motions. In its submission it argued that the motions repeated claims already examined and decided in the final judgment, and it said:
They are necessarily doomed to fail and must be dismissed, because they clearly go beyond the purpose of this remedy.
Ábalos's motion listed more than a dozen grounds, several of them alleging violations of fundamental rights. One complaint was that the trial was held before the Supreme Court after he gave up his seat as a deputy. He also argued that the court did not allow all the evidence his lawyer, Leticia de la Hoz, wanted to present in his defence. The court rejected these grounds along with the rest of the arguments in both motions.
What happens next
With the ordinary judicial route now exhausted, both men can file constitutional appeals (recurso de amparo) with the Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional). Their lawyers can now take the case to that court to seek protection of fundamental rights. The articles do not say when the Constitutional Court might rule on any such appeal.
Background to the verdict
El País reported that the Supreme Court tried the former minister, his former adviser and businessman Víctor de Aldama between April and May 2026. The sentence, authored by Criminal Chamber president Andrés Martínez Arrieta, was made public on 22 June. It adopted the account of Anti-Corruption chief Alejandro Luzón that the three defendants formed a criminal organisation aimed at profiting from Ábalos's ministerial office. The judges found proven the award of a supply of 13 million face masks to Puertos del Estado and Adif to a company linked to Aldama, and a monthly payment of 10,000 euros to Ábalos for fixed expenses. Aldama received a reduced sentence for confessing and cooperating with the justice system, and he will not go to prison if he meets several conditions, including not reoffending and completing a year of community service.
