Armengol Denies Lying in Senate Probe on Spain’s ‘Koldo’ Corruption Case

Spain’s congressional speaker, Francina Armengol, defended her conduct on Tuesday during a second appearance before the Senate commission probing alleged pandemic-era kickbacks known as the ‘Koldo’ affair. Armengol acknowledged that she met Víctor de Aldama once, in 2020, when the businessman accompanied Air Europa founder Pepe Hidalgo to a meeting at the Balearic presidency. She said she had “no recollection” of Aldama when she initially denied knowing him last year and insisted that her earlier testimony was therefore not misleading. Armengol rejected accusations that she exchanged WhatsApp messages with Aldama about sourcing children’s face masks and reiterated that she has “never taken a commission nor hidden information.” Vox senator Ángel-Pelayo Gordillo challenged her account, repeatedly calling for her resignation and alleging that the speaker could be implicated in forthcoming Guardia Civil findings. The Socialist politician also distanced herself from a €1.1 million contract her former regional government later awarded to Eurofins Megalab—whose representative had been introduced by ex-ministerial aide Koldo García—stating the project was considered but initially rejected and that she gave no instructions on hiring. Armengol said she had met “more than a thousand people” during the pandemic and maintained she had “nothing to fear” from the ongoing investigation.