Spanish Supreme Court Hears Testimony on Ghost Employees in Ábalos Corruption Trial

Spain's Supreme Court heard testimony this week in the corruption trial of José Luis Ábalos, former Minister of Transport, with the first two sessions revealing how two women with personal ties to the former minister were placed in public companies where they performed little or no work. The case, known as the "Koldo case" or "mask case," centers on allegations of influence peddling, cronyism, and the rigging of public contracts for medical supplies during the pandemic. Ábalos, who served as transport minister from 2018 to 2021 and was formerly the number two of the PSOE, has been in pre-trial detention alongside his former aide Koldo García since November 27, 2025, due to assessed flight risk.

Miss Asturias read train books, other woman never showed up The second session, held on Wednesday, focused on the testimony of Claudia Montes, who was crowned Miss Asturias 2017, and further testimony regarding Jésica Rodríguez, described in court as a former intimate partner of Ábalos. Montes testified that after informing Ábalos of her unemployment as a single mother, she was directed to apply for a position at Logirail, a Renfe subsidiary, where she was eventually hired. She told the court she had no desk, no computer, and no assigned tasks for a period, and spent her working hours reading what she described as "train books" borrowed from a library in Oviedo. Rodríguez, who had testified on the first day, admitted she was paid a salary of just over 1,100 euros per month from public companies Ineco and Tragsatec while remaining on standby waiting for instructions from Koldo García and his brother Joseba. Montes did not rule out that she had been placed in the job through connections, telling the court: „Based on the evidence in the proceedings, Jose and Koldo have done something.” — Claudia Montes via El Mundo She added, however, that Ábalos never directly told her he had secured her the position. Former Logirail managing director José Ángel Méndez testified that Montes missed more than eight days of work without justification, but that a disciplinary file he intended to open against her disappeared after he was dismissed without explanation, and his successor subsequently promoted her.

Former Adif official confirms minister intervened over meal vouchers A key witness on Wednesday was Ignacio Zaldívar, former deputy director of Administrative Management of Adif, who told the court that the then-president of Adif, Isabel Pardo de Vera, had warned him that Ábalos personally called to complain that Ineco was "bothering" Rodríguez over meal vouchers. Zaldívar stated that from that moment he understood Rodríguez's contract was "special," and that he subsequently arranged for her to be hired at Tragsatec after her contract at Ineco ended, presenting this to the court as a routine process. Witnesses also described how Rodríguez's work reports were limited to noting she performed "administrative tasks for Joseba," with no one in the company verifying the accuracy of those reports. One company worker, María Dolores Tapia, testified that the decision to place Rodríguez under the supervision of Joseba García — Koldo García's brother — had come from Zaldívar himself, though Zaldívar denied this account. Koldo García, who is also on trial, had served as a director at Renfe Mercancías following his appointment in November 2019, according to reporting by El País. Isabel Pardo de Vera, who served as president of Adif from 2018 to 2021 and later as Secretary of State for Transport, is scheduled to testify before the Supreme Court's Second Chamber on April 15, 2026.

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Government admits trial is consuming its entire political agenda The proceedings have inflicted significant political damage on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government, with members of the executive privately describing the trial as "repugnant," "painful," and "devastating," according to El País. Government sources acknowledged that the week had been effectively lost to the trial's coverage, despite what they described as a favorable political environment, including a record of 22 million people in employment that Sánchez himself had publicized. A constitutional reform guaranteeing abortions in public health centers, presented in the Council of Ministers the same week, was overshadowed entirely by questions about the Ábalos case at the government's press conference. One government member told El País that the situation was likely to persist for the duration of the trial. „It is a lost week, it is impossible to talk about anything positive.” — Government member via El País The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks in total, with the more substantive allegations — concerning the alleged rigging of contracts for pandemic medical supplies — yet to be addressed in detail after the opening sessions concentrated on the cronyism charges.

The Koldo case takes its name from Koldo García Izaguirre, Ábalos's former aide, and centers on allegations that the Ministry of Transport under Ábalos was used to steer contracts for pandemic-era medical supplies toward favored suppliers. The investigation also encompasses allegations of influence peddling involving the placement of individuals connected to Ábalos in public companies under the ministry's orbit. Ábalos served as transport minister across the first two governments of Pedro Sánchez, from 2018 to 2021, and was simultaneously the PSOE's secretary of organization from 2017 to 2021, making him one of the most powerful figures in the Spanish Socialist party during that period. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court's Second Chamber, which has jurisdiction over sitting and former senior officials.