Overview
- The preliminary hearing on February 6 will address nullity claims, evidence issues, and other prior motions before a trial date is set.
- Sources indicate the oral hearing is expected in April or after Easter, following a calendar shift from late February or early March.
- Scheduling talks followed notice from Ábalos’s new counsel about March conflicts tied to the Púnica case.
- The investigating judge, Leopoldo Puente, sent the case to trial after finding the defendants allegedly coordinated to profit from pandemic-era contracts.
- The court’s order lists the judges slated for the panel: Andrés Martínez Arrieta, Manuel Marchena, Andrés Palomo, Ana Ferrer, Eduardo de Porres, Julián Sánchez Melgar, and Javier Hernández, while the prosecution seeks 24 years for Ábalos, 19.5 for Koldo García, and 7 for Víctor de Aldama, with the PP-led popular accusation asking for 30 years for the first two.