Supreme Court magistrate Leopoldo Puente has ordered preventive detention without bail for former minister José Luis Ábalos and his ex-advisor Koldo García in the masks plot case. The ruling cites an 'extreme' flight risk ahead of trial and strong evidence of crimes like criminal organization and bribery. Both have entered Soto del Real prison, making Ábalos the first sitting deputy imprisoned.
Magistrate Puente ordered this after a Supreme Court hearing where the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and PP's popular accusations requested imprisonment for the first time, citing growing flight risk. Until now, Ábalos and García complied with measures like biweekly court appearances, passport surrender, and travel ban, but the instructor deems them insufficient ahead of the oral trial proposed on November 3.
Puente charges both with serious crimes: integration into a criminal organization, bribery, insider trading, influence peddling, and embezzlement. Prosecutors seek 24 years for Ábalos and 19.5 for García; popular parties, 30 each. The judge highlights evidence of Ábalos handling cash without bank withdrawals for years, and his international ties, like property in Peru and son's foreign transfers.
Ábalos, a Mixed Group deputy, cited ties via his parliamentary salary (about 6,000 euros monthly), but Puente rejects it, noting conviction would end it. Congress will suspend his rights and duties, barring votes or interventions, though he keeps his seat. Parliamentary sources say majorities unchanged, at 350 seats and absolute majority at 176.
Both entered Soto del Real at 18:09. They'll spend the first night in the intake module, with fingerprinting and belongings check, before likely transfer to a primary inmates' module. Nervous Ábalos and calmer García denied flight risk to the judge. The PP, via Feijóo, calls a Sunday rally against Sánchez, dubbing him 'the rotten apple'.
