The judge of Prison Surveillance at the National Court, José Luis Castro, granted conditional release on Friday to Pablo Crespo, number two of the Gürtel plot, after more than 12 years in prison. Crespo, former Organization Secretary of the Galician PP, has served two-thirds of his sentence. The decision considers his low risk of recidivism and family support.
Judge José Luis Castro of the National Court issued an order on Friday granting early conditional release to Pablo Crespo Sabaris, considered number two of the Gürtel corruption plot and former number three of the Galician PP. Crespo entered preventive detention in 2009, remaining there for three years until release on bail in 2012. He returned to prison in February 2017 and was released in 2023, spending the last three years in semi-liberty with an electronic bracelet. He has served more than two-thirds of his sentence, with a maximum limit of 18 years.
In the resolution, the magistrate highlights the "low risk of recidivism", the antiquity of the criminal acts—the plot was dismantled in February 2009—, the "normalized conduct" during the sentence, good use of the open regime, a job at a Madrid law firm, payment of civil liability, and "binding and positive family support". The Public Prosecutor's Office has expressed agreement with the measure, which will be executed in the coming days if not appealed.
Crespo must follow conduct rules until December 2031, such as fixing residence, notifying changes, undergoing social services monitoring, maintaining employment, and continuing civil liability payments. In court, he acknowledged being "the maximum responsible, along with Correa" for crimes from public works kickbacks to tax fraud. After confessing his role, he stated: “Now I am a social outcast".
With this release, only Francisco Correa remains imprisoned among the main ringleaders, in telematic semi-liberty. Crespo participated in the Economic Crimes Intervention Program (Pideco). In a December 2024 interview, he expressed regret: “It is not easy to recognize that you have committed a crime simply out of ambition".
