A corruption trial of a former right hand man to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez begins on Tuesday (April 7, 2026), a politically explosive case that has threatened to topple the Socialist-led minority government.
Jose Luis Abalos is a disgraced ex-Socialist heavyweight, a former transport minister who helped propel Mr. Sanchez to power in 2018. The case is one of several corruption affairs rattling the fragile coalition.
Mr. Abalos and his former adviser Koldo Garcia are suspected of having pocketed kickbacks for handing out public contracts worth millions of euros for sanitary equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court in Madrid will judge them for alleged bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, membership of a criminal organisation and misuse of confidential information. The men deny the charges.
Prosecutors want Mr. Abalos to serve 24 years in jail. They portray him as the mastermind of a scheme of illicit enrichment. They have called for a 19-year term for Garcia, who they say was a key intermediary.
