€50 million in hidden commissions over Sepi headquarters sale
The contract for the sale of Spain's Sepi headquarters included €50 million in hidden commissions for Víctor de Aldama, with €5 million for Ábalos and Koldo García, according to EL…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The sale of the Sepi headquarters: €50 million in commissions for Aldama and Ábalos
The contract for the sale of the headquarters of Spain's state-owned industrial holding company (Sepi) included hidden commissions worth €50 million for businessman Víctor de Aldama, according to the document accessed by EL MUNDO. The deal, championed by First Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero, set out in black and white the split of a markup that is five times the market value of the operation.
How the kickback was split: €5 million for Ábalos and Koldo
Aldama planned to channel at least €5 million of that amount to former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his adviser Koldo García, in exchange for having given him access to the deal. The Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) intercepted a recording in which both openly discussed how the commission would be divided. The secret contract, signed between the investment fund Platinum Estates Limited (based in Hong Kong) and the company Pilot Real Estate, details the payment mechanism.
Public assets as plunder
This is not an isolated case. The deal reflects a pattern in which senior political officials use their positions to extract multimillion-euro commissions from the sale of public assets. On this occasion, the property deal in the heart of Madrid would have generated a €50 million windfall for middlemen, while the State received only the base price. The question that remains: if this was uncovered in a single deal, how many more are waiting in the shadows?
Based on an exclusive document accessed by EL MUNDO.
The contract for the sale of the headquarters of Spain's state-owned industrial holding company (Sepi) included hidden commissions worth €50 million for businessman Víctor de Aldama, according to the document accessed by EL MUNDO. The deal, championed by First Deputy Prime Minister María Jesús Montero, set out in black and white the split of a markup that is five times the market value of the operation.
How the kickback was split: €5 million for Ábalos and Koldo
Aldama planned to channel at least €5 million of that amount to former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his adviser Koldo García, in exchange for having given him access to the deal. The Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) intercepted a recording in which both openly discussed how the commission would be divided. The secret contract, signed between the investment fund Platinum Estates Limited (based in Hong Kong) and the company Pilot Real Estate, details the payment mechanism.
Public assets as plunder
This is not an isolated case. The deal reflects a pattern in which senior political officials use their positions to extract multimillion-euro commissions from the sale of public assets. On this occasion, the property deal in the heart of Madrid would have generated a €50 million windfall for middlemen, while the State received only the base price. The question that remains: if this was uncovered in a single deal, how many more are waiting in the shadows?
Based on an exclusive document accessed by EL MUNDO.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (24 replies).
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