A former Spanish cabinet minister once regarded as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s closest political ally has been sentenced to 24 years in prison in a landmark corruption case that has plunged the government into fresh turmoil.
Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday convicted former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his longtime adviser Koldo García over a scheme involving public contracts awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ábalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison, while García received a 19-year sentence.
The ruling marks the first corruption case involving a former Sánchez minister to reach a final, non-appealable verdict and is likely to intensify pressure on the Socialist prime minister, who is already facing a series of investigations involving figures in his political orbit.
The case centres on contracts for masks and other medical supplies awarded during the pandemic. Judges found that Ábalos, who also served as secretary of the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE), used his position to favour businessman Víctor de Aldama and companies linked to him.
In return, according to the court, Ábalos received a series of benefits, including accommodation for a former partner, access to properties, and other personal advantages. The judges also found that associates of the former minister were given positions in state-owned companies.
Aldama was also convicted but avoided prison despite receiving a four-and-a-half-year sentence. The court substantially reduced his punishment after concluding that his cooperation had helped expose the wider corruption network. Instead of jail, he will be subject to supervision, community service, and other conditions.
The Supreme Court delivered an unusually severe assessment of the affair, warning that corruption at the highest levels of government damages democratic institutions and undermines public trust. Judges stressed that the offences were committed by a serving minister who held one of the most influential positions in both government and the ruling party.
The verdict immediately sparked calls for Sánchez to step down.
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo demanded the prime minister’s resignation and called for fresh elections, arguing that Sánchez bears political responsibility for the actions of one of his most trusted former lieutenants.
“Neither Pedro Sánchez would have been possible without Ábalos nor Ábalos without Pedro Sánchez,” Feijóo said, accusing the prime minister of turning a blind eye to conduct that was allegedly well known within political circles.
VOX reacted even more forcefully, arguing that the convictions demonstrated that Sánchez’s government had become politically untenable.
Speaking shortly after the ruling, VOX spokesman José Antonio Fúster demanded Sánchez’s resignation and renewed calls for the People’s Party (PP) to table a motion of no confidence.
“What more has to happen?” Fúster asked, arguing that the conviction of a former minister for crimes committed while in office left no justification for Sánchez remaining in power. He urged Feijóo to stop discussing future coalition arrangements and focus instead on forcing an election.
VOX accused Sánchez of being the political link connecting the growing number of corruption scandals surrounding the PSOE and the prime minister’s wider circle. Fúster described the current administration as a “criminal mafia” and insisted that Spain should return to the polls as soon as possible.
According to Spanish media, Ábalos becomes only the fifth government minister since Spain’s return to democracy to receive a prison sentence—and the 24-year term is the longest imposed on any former minister.
Although Sánchez’ government has argued that Ábalos was expelled from the PSOE once the allegations became public, the conviction is expected to deepen the political crisis facing the prime minister and fuel opposition claims that corruption reached the highest levels of his administration.
For Sánchez, the most damaging aspect of the verdict may be that the first corruption case involving one of his former ministers to reach a final verdict concerns the man who for years served as his closest political lieutenant and one of the most powerful figures in Spanish politics.