A former Spanish transport minister was sentenced to 24 years in prison on corruption charges on Monday, in the first verdict from a series of scandals blighting Pedro Sanchez’s ruling Socialist Party.Jose Luis Abalos, 66, was found guilty of criminal organisation, bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling by the country’s supreme court for his role in a scheme linked to face mask contracts during Covid.The court unanimously found that Mr Abalos, his aide Koldo Garcia and businessman Víctor de Aldama had formed a criminal organisation with clear roles to make financial gains through corrupt practices.Mr Garcia received a 19-year prison term, while Mr Aldama was sentenced to four-and-a-half years with a suspended sentence, in recognition of his cooperation in uncovering the scheme.Jose Luis Abalos, pictured in October, was sentenced on Monday (AFP/Getty)His sentence was also conditional on him not reoffending, submitting biannual activity reports, and completing one year of community service.According to the ruling, contracts for some 13 million masks at the height of the pandemic were awarded to Spain's state-owned entities Puertos del Estado and railway infrastructure operator Adif through the scheme via a company linked to Mr Aldama.The court found that Mr Abalos received benefits including a monthly payment of €10,000 for promoting business interests.This trial is one of several graft cases involving the entourage of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Mr Sanchez, one of Europe's few remaining leftist leaders, came to power eight years ago promising to clean up politics, having ousted a centre-right government plagued by a string of corruption scandals. Pedro Sanchez (R), and his wife Begona Gomez, in Beijing in April, amid scrutiny over her conduct (Reuters)While facing scrutiny even from allies, Mr Sanchez himself has not been named in any of the cases, and maintains they are part of a campaign to oust him.The prime minister’s brother, David Sanchez, was previously indicted in an investigation into alleged influence peddling linked to his hiring by a regional government.And in April, his wife was charged with corruption in a long-running case that her allies branded a political smear.Her personal assistant and a businessman also faced charges in connection with the case. All three denied wrongdoing.