This Was the Statement by the Chief of Staff of Minister Montero in the 'koldo Case'

Carlos Moreno, chief of staff for Vice President María Jesús Montero, has categorically denied receiving illegal payments from the so-called Koldo network. He stated this during his appearance this Tuesday at the Supreme Court.

According to judicial sources, Moreno refuted the version of businessman Víctor de Aldama, who had declared that he was given 25,000 euros in cash in exchange for facilitating a management task in the Ministry of Finance to benefit one of the companies linked to the network.

Moreno's testimony is part of the investigation that the high court is conducting into an alleged corruption network in public contracts. During his statement, he asserted that he hadn't received any envelope with money nor intervened for the Treasury to grant payment deferrals to the company Pilot Real State. This is one of the companies involved in the scandal.

Aldama's version, however, has been consistent in his statements before the National Court and the Supreme Court. In November, during his appearance at the National Court, he claimed that the network had made this payment to obtain advantages in the Ministry of Finance.

He reiterated this claim in December before the Supreme Court, which led Judge Leopoldo Puente to summon Moreno as a witness, along with 16 other people related to the alleged corruption network.

On this Tuesday's session, Israel Pilar also appeared. He is under investigation in the National Court for his involvement in the mask business that led to the investigation into the Koldo network.

The case is still developing, and the Justice will continue analyzing the statements of those involved to clarify whether there were illicit payments and what impact they had on the decisions of the Ministry of Finance.