New blow to Sánchez's government: UCO prepares its report on Minister Torres

Maximum tension in President Pedro Sánchez's government over the imminent report prepared by the Civil Guard's UCO. Now, the focus is on the alleged involvement in the scheme of million-euro awards for medical supplies by the former president of the Canary Islands and Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Victor Torres. This is according to government sources consulted by elcierredigital.com.

In fact, in the political circles close to Sánchez, they report that "the continuity of the current Executive revolves around two essential issues. The first is 'smoothing out' some agreements (amnesty and plurinational model) with government partners."

Secondly, "there is great expectation regarding the upcoming UCO report. Especially in relation to the extraction of communications from the investigated Víctor de Aldama."

All of this is based on the conversations that "Aldama might have kept with Minister Torres. Regarding the mask contracts worth €12.5 million (12.5 million euros) awarded to the company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a Empresas SL. When he served as regional president in the Canary Islands," - as elcierredigital.com revealed in 2022-.

Additionally, in Sánchez's political circle, they also consider any scenario related to alleged "kickbacks" linked to the Koldo case, by any minister."

Therefore, they maintain that "any alleged connection of Minister Torres with the Koldo-Ábalos-Cerdán-Hydrocarbons scheme could bring Sánchez's government to an end."

"If Torres falls, Sánchez falls"

"Sánchez's Executive isn't prepared to withstand a political blow that shakes one of its ministers." For this reason, they argue, "the UCO's investigations into Torres could mark a turning point in the government agreement."

Meanwhile, Sánchez's political partners are waiting for the arrival of the aforementioned UCO report to take the next steps. All this after supporting Sánchez in his latest appearance in the Congress of Deputies this week. For now, Sánchez remains at the head of the Executive.

Meanwhile, sources close to Minister Torres consulted by elcierredigital.com state that, for now, "the minister keeps calm regarding the UCO report that is about to reach the Supreme Court. He reiterates that the technicians were in charge of the procurement of medical supplies. Just as he recently stated before the Investigation Committee of the Parliament of the Canary Islands."

Nevertheless, the government is also awaiting the next appearance on July 21 before the National Court for the Koldo case, of the former president of Adif, Isabel Pardo de Vera, -charged with five alleged crimes- and also the investigated former Director General of Roads, Javier Herrero, to answer for their management in the Ministry of Transport, due to an alleged "manipulation in the awarding of contracts," during the tenure of former minister José Luís Ábalos.

The Supreme Court tasked UCO with investigating Torres

It was during last February when the Supreme Court magistrate, Leopoldo Puente, who is in charge of a special case in the Koldo affair, issued a key order. He requested that "all communications from the extraction of the devices seized from Víctor de Aldama in the context of 'Operation Delorme' be recovered."

Specifically, as elcierredigital.com reported, the High Court judge was interested in "Aldama's communications. Especially with Minister Ángel Víctor Torres and his subordinates."

But he also requested from UCO the conversations that took place between Aldama and the investigated, José Luís Ábalos and Santos Cerdán, -in pre-trial detention-. Also, Aldama's communications with Victor Ábalos.

Since then, UCO has been working with the information obtained from Aldama's devices about Torres. Apparently, sources familiar with the case indicate that "the UCO report on this minister and Sánchez's trusted man could be released in the coming days. Otherwise, it would be necessary to wait until September."

Meanwhile, the popular prosecution Hazte Oír took action in December 2024 before the magistrate of the Koldo case in the AN, Ismael Moreno. They requested that "the matter of Torres be referred to the Supreme Court, and that UCO be asked to investigate this minister from the High Court since he is protected by parliamentary immunity," as our newspaper reported.

It should be recalled that the political "godfathers" of Minister Torres, at the PSOE Canary Islands congress in 2017, during the opening and closing of this meeting of the Canarian socialists, were the former minister, José Luís Ábalos, and the former deputy, Santos Cerdán, both investigated in the Koldo scheme.

Torres was proclaimed Secretary General of PSOE Canary Islands in 2017. Two years later, he was elected president of the Canary Islands, and governed with a coalition during the pandemic when the medical supply contracts were approved. These contracts are currently under investigation by the National Court, Supreme Court, and European Public Prosecutor's Office.

Finally, Torres won the Canary Islands regional elections again in 2023, but he didn't manage to renew the so-called "Pacto de las Flores." Therefore, Pedro Sánchez appointed Torres as Minister of Territorial Policy and Historical Memory in his own Executive, alongside former minister Ábalos.

The judicial siege of Torres

Elcierredigital.com uncovered in 2022 all the complaints before the courts against the million-euro awards approved by the executive of the former president of the Canary Islands and Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres.

As a result of our investigative journalism work, the inquiries by the competent authorities were activated.

This led to the investigations of the Damco and Tanoja cases (€20 million/20 million euros). Also in the RR7 United SL case (€4 million/4 million euros) in the European Public Prosecutor's Office.

As well as the investigation of the contracts carried out by Torres's government. With the company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a Empresas SL (Koldo case €12.5 million/12.5 million euros), and Megalabs (€5 million/5 million euros).

The Derbah case, linked to the Apartahotel La Ponderosa and the awarded companies Bares y Restaurantes Sur SL and Viajes al Paraiso Canarias SL, for another contract worth €1 million (1 million euros) to house migrants in Covid-19 quarantine, awarded by Torres's regional government.