In the third session of the Koldo corruption case trial at Spain's Supreme Court—following initial testimonies on Day 1 that largely denied wrongdoing—businesswoman Carmen Pano testified to delivering 90,000 euros on two occasions to the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz street, in plastic bags inside cardboard ones. Her daughter, Leonor González Pano, ex-girlfriend of Víctor de Aldama, confirmed acting as a front for related companies and detailed a chalet for José Luis Ábalos and an Air Europa commission. Defendants Ábalos and Aldama heard the testimonies.
The third day of the trial against former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos, his ex-advisor Koldo García, and businessman Víctor de Aldama—charged with corruption over pandemic mask contracts and related schemes—featured key testimonies from Carmen Pano and her daughter Leonor González Pano.
Carmen Pano described receiving the money from Aldama at his office on Alfonso XIII street: 45,000 euros each time, first transported by taxi and second by her driver Álvaro Gallego, who confirmed seeing 'bundles of bills' in transparent white bags inside larger cardboard ones. She delivered it to the second floor of PSOE's Ferraz headquarters, handing it to an unknown man as elevator doors opened. Upset after losing 10,000 euros to evaporation on the second trip, she told Aldama it was 'the last time.'
Leonor González Pano, administrator of Have Got Time for Claudio Rivas, admitted the company purchased a chalet in La Alcaidesa (Cádiz) for Ábalos on Rivas's orders. Both witnesses reported Aldama claiming he and Koldo García collected 500,000 euros at Air Europa owner Juan José Hidalgo's house for facilitating the airline's state rescue on November 3, 2020.
During Leonor's testimony, WhatsApp messages were read, including her calling Ábalos 'putero' and noting tensions with Pedro Sánchez over a fuel license. Tribunal president Andrés Martínez Arrieta advanced Carmen's statement so mother and daughter could leave together.
