The name of Patricia Ãriz She was not well known until this Wednesday, when she was arrested, as were about twenty people, including her husband, Koldo Garcíaformer ministerial advisor Ãbaloswithin the framework of the Operation Delorme, the investigation by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard into an alleged criminal plot for the illegal “payment of commissions” for prophylactic masks during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is estimated that the operations amount to 53 million euros for those involved, 10 of which allegedly come from bribes. José Luis Ábalos says that he didn't know anything: “I was shocked, I have no idea”he said in Congress.
The Civil Guard suspects that the network charged companies a 20% commission for each contract. The investigation began more than two years ago but was revealed on Tuesday night. There have been 20 arrests and 26 searches throughout Spain. All of them occurred this Tuesday in Madrid, Alicante, Murcia, León, Álava, Vizcaya, Zaragoza and Cáceres.
Patricia Úriz, 47 years old, was known for her political dalliances in her homeland, Navarra, and for benefiting from her closeness to the PSOE and especially to the famous Ábalos clan, the group of 'enchufados' around which she was Minister of Transportation in the first governments of Pedro Sánchez. For example, Patricia Úriz was 'gifted' with a position at level 17 within the ministry, one of the highest she could apply for due to her academic training. Her resume says that she is a technician in Tourist Activities and Occupational Risks but she did not have specific experience in the Transportation field. We do know that she had worked in “the department store sector.” She does not elaborate further.
Due to his closeness to the Socialist Party of Navarra (PSN), he was a member of Social Welfare in the executive of that political formation and even occupied the 29th position on the PSN lists for the autonomous elections of Navarra in 2005. That list was headed by María Chivite, current president of the Foral Community. In the middle of the pandemic, the wife of José Luis Ábalos' former right-hand man was placed without opposition as a secretarial assistant.
Koldo García and his wife were regulars on the PSN lists for the municipal elections in Huarte, a town near Pamplona. Koldo led the candidacy of this party in the 2011 municipal elections. He only obtained 170 votes, but managed to become a councilor. In the following elections it was Patricia who headed the lists, but she was not elected.
Before his arrest this Tuesday, Koldo García's name made headlines after the controversial meeting between the Minister of Transportation, José Luis Ábalos, and the Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, at the Madrid-Barajas airport on January 19, when accompanying the minister to this meeting with Rodríguez.
The operation still raises many unknowns. There are still data that are not known, given that the Central Court of Instruction number 2 of the National Court, headed by Judge Ismael Moreno, has decreed the secrecy of the proceedings. Among others, Koldo García, his brother Joseba and the former's wife have been arrested. The Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard suspects a criminal plot to award contracts for health products and then collect illegal commissions.
Koldo García was a brothel doorman, bodyguard, aizkolari, councillor, Renfe advisor, advisor and deputy before becoming a trusted man of José Luis Ábalos, Minister of Transport (2018-2021) and Secretary of Organization of the PSOE (2017- 2021). The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office attributes alleged crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling, money laundering and bribery to them. The company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a la Empresa, from Zaragoza, was not dedicated to the purchase and sale of medical supplies, but it signed million-dollar contracts with the ministry of José Luis Ábalos, specifically with Adif and Puertos del Estado.
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