The Tribunal de Cuentas has opened a formal instruction to recover public funds allegedly siphoned through rigged Adif infrastructure contracts tied to the Koldo corruption network.
Rebeca Laliga, president of the prosecuting section, launched the inquiry following a supportive assessment from the institution’s prosecutor. This financial watchdog activation builds directly upon an internal audit approved last December, which has simultaneously drawn the scrutiny of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Guardia Civil agents from the Central Operative Unit (UCO) visited the Tribunal de Cuentas headquarters to deliver an information request. Officials at the tribunal confirmed the visit while noting that the inquiry stems from the Adif procurement report initially brought to light by EL MUNDO.
The investigation focuses on multiple awards granted to a construction firm linked to the Koldo network, named after Koldo García, an advisor to former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos.
Two distinct legal tracks are now running parallel. The Tribunal de Cuentas is pursuing civil liability to claw back state losses, while the European Public Prosecutor’s Office handles the judicial and criminal aspects.
Tribunal Seeks to Recover Funds Through Asset Seizures
The primary objective of the Tribunal’s instruction is to calculate the exact financial injury inflicted on the state and compel those responsible to restitute the funds, utilizing preventive asset seizures if necessary. This administrative route operates independently of criminal proceedings.
The process originates from an audit conducted by Tribunal de Cuentas member José Manuel Otero Lastres. His team flagged serious irregularities in contracts financed by the European Union during a routine fiscal review of Adif.
Internal whistleblowers inside the public entity previously flagged preferential treatment toward Obras Públicas y Regadíos (OPR), a construction company subsequently implicated in the political corruption scandal. The audit highlights at least two European-funded contracts valued at 85 million euros.
Identifying ultimate liability poses a challenge if Adif officials involved in the awards were merely executing directives from superiors. While criminal investigators point to Ábalos as the ultimate political responsible party, the accounting tribunal’s instruction remains in its early stages.
Adif Leadership Dismissed Warnings About Procurement Manipulation
State-owned engineering firm Ineco originally flagged the procurement manipulation, though Adif leadership dismissed the warnings.
According to the tribunal’s findings, an Adif employee instructed two Ineco staff members to alter technical scoring sheets for three separate tenders under orders from a hierarchical superior. Adif received two internal complaints through its ethical channel in 2022 detailing the falsification of scores to favor OPR, but leadership archived the grievances with what auditors described as unacceptable laxity.
Pedro Marco de la Peña, the outgoing president of Adif, defended the disputed awards in written submissions to the Tribunal de Cuentas, denying any administrative rigging took place. His defense downplayed an inquiry from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), which requested information from Adif on April 13, 2023, arguing at the time that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office had not yet initiated a formal case.
Despite expectations among Adif’s top brass that the file would eventually be shelved, both European judicial authorities and domestic auditors are moving forward. The Tribunal de Cuentas instruction continues its course to determine the scale of restitution required.
