Overview
- The Supreme Court delivered the verdict Tuesday, finding José Luis Ábalos guilty of bribery, misuse of office, influence peddling and embezzlement tied to contracts for facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The court handed Abalos a 24-year term that the judges said will be capped at about 16.5 years under Spanish sentencing law.
- Businessman Víctor de Aldama pleaded guilty in the same scheme and received a suspended sentence for channelling illicit commissions linked to a 13 million facemask contract.
- A judge ordered on Saturday that Begoña Gómez, the prime minister’s wife, surrender her passport and face a jury trial on alleged influence peddling as more than a dozen people close to Sánchez remain under investigation or on trial.
- The verdict has prompted opposition calls for Sánchez to resign while the government rejects claims of systemic corruption and says it will defend institutional integrity; the cases could shape public trust and the election calendar ahead.