José Luis Ábalos’s first lawyer in the Koldo case, José Aníbal Álvarez, explained at the National Court that the plumber Leire Díez proposed paying for the former minister’s defense through a company, according to legal sources familiar with the statement. The lawyer appeared this Monday as a witness before Judge Santiago Pedraz, who is investigating Díez’s maneuvers to sabotage criminal cases that harm the PSOE and the Government.
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The witness added that he refused because he always charges his client or a company directly related to him. He specified that he never received payment for his defense work for the former minister and neither did those who succeeded him.
The lawyer denied that the plumber coordinated the defense of the former PSOE Organization Secretary and former Transport head, who the Supreme Court has just sentenced to 24 years in prison. Additionally, the Court keeps him as a suspect in other branches of the Koldo case.
In one of its reports, the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard indicated that Díez “could have managed the payment by the PSOE” for Álvarez’s defense of Ábalos, as recalled by Europa Press. The investigators noted that “it seems that the agreed deadlines and channels for payment were not met, requiring Díez to intervene.” Finally, it was added, “this lawyer rejected Ábalos’s defense due to non-payment.”
Furthermore, they included conversations between him and the former member between November and December 2024 “referring to a matter pending resolution.” “Considering the entire conversation between Díez and Álvarez, it is inferred that, indicatively, in these messages Álvarez was referring to the delay and/or non-payment of the fees corresponding to Ábalos’s legal assistance,” they reported.
Thus, from the UCO report, it appears that the former member asked him: “Do you have a trusted office through which the payment could be made?”, to which the lawyer replied: “That was not what was discussed. There is no trust in these matters.” The conversation took place with Díez indicating that she had established a company, “from which it is inferred that the payment referred to at the beginning of the conversation was made by interposing Díez herself,” the UCO noted. To this, Álvarez responded, according to the report: “Thanks, but this is unacceptable.”
The Court ratifies the indictment of Koldo García’s lawyer
The National Court has rejected the appeal of Koldo García’s lawyer, Leticia de la Hoz, against her summons to testify tomorrow as an investigated party before Judge Santiago Pedraz. The Third Section holds that the facts investigated so far “could apparently constitute a criminal offense,” so it is reasonable for the investigating judge to want to inquire into them.
The lawyer’s defense argued that there was insufficient incriminating material for the judge’s decision. “Such material exists,” the Chamber counters. Against De la Hoz is the statement before the UCO of businesswoman Carmen Pano, who claimed that the lawyer had offered her money paid by the PSOE, in exchange for committing perjury and retracting her statement that she had taken cash to the PSOE headquarters.
The magistrates consider the motivation given by the judge sufficient to declare her as investigated.
