Overview
- Justice Leopoldo Puente ordered provisional detention for José Luis Ábalos and former adviser Koldo García at Soto del Real after a hearing, noting concluded investigation, an imminent trial and suspected funds hidden abroad.
- Anti‑corruption prosecutors seek up to 24 years in prison for Ábalos over alleged crimes tied to pandemic‑era contracting, with related requests also targeting García.
- Congress President Francina Armengol moved to certify the incarceration to suspend Ábalos’s rights and duties as a deputy; he keeps his seat but loses voting privileges and his gross salary of about €5,315.24 a month while in custody.
- The case centers on alleged irregular mask procurement and other awards linked to businessman Víctor de Aldama and his company Soluciones de Gestión, with parallel proceedings continuing in the National Court.
- Political fallout is intensifying inside the PSOE as the government’s vote count tightens, and PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has called a citizen rally in Madrid at the Templo de Debod on Sunday at 12:00 to protest the executive and corruption.