Spain’s Supreme Court has seized the passport of former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos, once a key figure in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, as part of an ongoing bribery investigation.
Ábalos, who held the transport minister post from 2018 to 2021, is under scrutiny for alleged involvement in a corruption scheme tied to the procurement of masks and medical supplies during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court launched an inquiry last year into Ábalos, a former close associate of Sánchez, on charges of corruption, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
On February 20, the court ruled to revoke his passport and mandated that he report to authorities biweekly.
These actions were justified to prevent him from “evading justice” due to the “particular seriousness of the criminal offenses attributed to him,” the court stated.
Ábalos, dismissed from his ministerial role in July 2021, was expelled from Sánchez’s Socialist Party in February following the emergence of the case. However, he continues to serve in parliament as an independent deputy.
