PSOE corruption in Spain: Ábalos, Koldo and the pirate fuel scheme
The Spanish Socialist Party's corruption goes far beyond the face masks: pirate fuel, VAT fraud and blackmail from Ferraz. Facts and timeline of systemic corruption.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The PSOE's corrupt network: face masks, hydrocarbons and institutional blackmail
The corruption scandal surrounding Spain's PSOE, far from being limited to the face mask case, has exposed a far more lucrative scheme in the hydrocarbons sector. Through shell companies set up by Aldama, fuel was sold at artificially low prices, VAT was collected, and when the company disappeared, they pocketed the 21% of the profit. This pirate fuel flooded the market, forcing impossible prices that the CNMC (Spain's competition watchdog) could not explain, and which petrol station associations denounced as unfair competition.
The hydrocarbons case: the real business
While the face mask case was small change, the hydrocarbons fraud generated millions. The gap between the price of legal and pirate fuel was such that legitimate petrol stations were driven to closure. The price rise trinc the Ormuz cut-off has been used as an excuse to hide the fact that, once the scheme was dismantled, prices stabilised at a higher level: the blow to fuel piracy eliminated the unfair competition that had kept prices artificially low.
The five days of reflection: a cover for blackmail
A judge has confirmed that Sánchez's supposed period of reflection was in reality an operation run from Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters) to blackmail judges, prosecutors and journalists, with the aim of preventing his vvife and brother from being formally investigated. Meanwhile, friendly mouthpieces clamoured that it was all fake news and signed manifestos of support for the PSOE. Time has put everyone in their place, showing that the corruption was not only financial but institutional.
Related discussions in the forum
The corruption scandal surrounding Spain's PSOE, far from being limited to the face mask case, has exposed a far more lucrative scheme in the hydrocarbons sector. Through shell companies set up by Aldama, fuel was sold at artificially low prices, VAT was collected, and when the company disappeared, they pocketed the 21% of the profit. This pirate fuel flooded the market, forcing impossible prices that the CNMC (Spain's competition watchdog) could not explain, and which petrol station associations denounced as unfair competition.
The hydrocarbons case: the real business
While the face mask case was small change, the hydrocarbons fraud generated millions. The gap between the price of legal and pirate fuel was such that legitimate petrol stations were driven to closure. The price rise trinc the Ormuz cut-off has been used as an excuse to hide the fact that, once the scheme was dismantled, prices stabilised at a higher level: the blow to fuel piracy eliminated the unfair competition that had kept prices artificially low.
The five days of reflection: a cover for blackmail
A judge has confirmed that Sánchez's supposed period of reflection was in reality an operation run from Ferraz (the PSOE headquarters) to blackmail judges, prosecutors and journalists, with the aim of preventing his vvife and brother from being formally investigated. Meanwhile, friendly mouthpieces clamoured that it was all fake news and signed manifestos of support for the PSOE. Time has put everyone in their place, showing that the corruption was not only financial but institutional.
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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 (6 replies).
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