Lorraine Williamson
Six people have been arrested in a fresh Guardia Civil operation linked to Spain’s Koldo corruption investigation, with officers visiting the headquarters of railway infrastructure operator Adif and searching the Valencia home of former transport minister José Luis Ábalos.
The Guardia Civil launched the operation early on Thursday, 5 November, after National Court judge Ismael Moreno opened a new, confidential section of the Koldo investigation earlier in the week. Officers from the force’s Central Operational Unit (UCO) carried out arrests and searches in Madrid, Córdoba, Valencia and Sevilla, while also requesting information from railway infrastructure operator Adif.
According to EFE’s reporting on the operation, the new investigation concerns suspected illicit payments connected to public works contracts. The judicial proceedings remain confidential, and the full details of the allegations against those detained have not yet been made public.
Guardia Civil searches former minister’s home
Among those arrested were Andrea de la Torre, the partner of former transport minister José Luis Ábalos, and Córdoba businessman Cristian Corvillo, who reportedly drove Pedro Sánchez during the PSOE leadership campaign in 2017. Guardia Civil officers searched Ábalos’s Valencia residence and Corvillo’s home in Córdoba as part of the operation, according to EFE. The PSOE has disputed suggestions that Corvillo was employed as Sánchez’s official driver, saying the party never paid him.
The latest operation follows a new UCO report submitted to the National Court, prompting Judge Moreno to open another section of the wider investigation. The inquiry has expanded considerably since allegations first emerged concerning public contracts awarded during the coronavirus pandemic, with investigators subsequently examining suspected irregularities in infrastructure projects.
Officers also attended Adif’s headquarters to obtain information relating to the investigation. EFE reported that the request formed part of the new judicial proceedings, which concern alleged improper payments associated with public works contracts.
Adif faces renewed scrutiny
The latest development comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Spain’s railway administration. Adif president Luis Pedro Marco de la Peña resigned on Wednesday, just one day after Transport Minister Óscar Puente stepped down following the devastating railway disaster near Urda, Toledo, which killed 69 people.
The timing places Adif at the centre of two separate national controversies, although there is no established connection between the corruption investigation and the causes of the railway accident. The Koldo inquiry concerns alleged irregularities in public contracts, while the Urda disaster is the subject of separate investigations into railway safety and the circumstances of the collision.
The wider corruption proceedings have previously examined the activities of former Adif president Isabel Pardo de Vera, former senior Socialist Party official Santos Cerdán and other individuals connected to public infrastructure contracts. Their inclusion in earlier investigative proceedings does not establish responsibility for the allegations being examined in Thursday’s new operation.
Investigation remains confidential
The National Court’s decision to keep the new proceedings confidential means further details may emerge as investigators examine documents and evidence obtained during the searches. The arrests mark a significant development in a case that has already produced major political consequences and intensified scrutiny of how public contracts were awarded.
For the government, the latest operation adds another challenge at a time when Spain’s transport administration is undergoing an unexpected leadership transition. However, the judicial investigation and the railway safety crisis remain distinct matters, and any suggestion of a direct connection would require evidence from the authorities.
Further announcements from the National Court, Guardia Civil or the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office will be important in establishing the identities of those detained, the allegations under investigation and whether additional judicial action follows.