Overview
- The Supreme Court on Monday, June 22, 2026, unanimously convicted José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser Koldo García of belonging to a criminal organisation, corruption, embezzlement of public funds and influence peddling and sentenced them to 24 and 19 years in prison respectively.
- Businessman Víctor de Aldama was given a four-and-a-half-year term that the court suspended because he cooperated with investigators during the probe and trial.
- Prosecutors say the scheme involved irregular COVID-era contracts for the purchase of millions of masks that were exchanged for monthly payments, paid vacations, favors for mistresses and even payments for prostitutes for Ábalos.
- Ábalos and García remain in custody following the verdict while de Aldama avoids immediate imprisonment due to his cooperation, and the convicted men can still seek appeals or other legal remedies under Spanish procedure.
- A de Aldama testimony implicated Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and alleged illegal party financing but the claim is disputed by Sánchez and has not led to charges, a development that has intensified opposition calls for answers and raised political stakes for the government.