Chinese businessman Fangyong Du, known in certain PSOE circles as “Miguelito Duch,” appears to be linked to the investigation into the Koldo affair through various political and business contacts developed during the pandemic. According to information published by The Objective, one of the channels that brought him closer to the circle of then-Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos was Acento, the consultancy firm founded by former Socialist minister José Blanco.
Documentation reviewed for this case puts Du in touch with people connected to the Ministry of Transport. One particular event noted occurred in March 2020, at which point Isabel Pardo de Vera, serving back then as ADIF’s president, gave Koldo García the Chinese businessman’s phone number amid efforts to secure medical supplies during the pandemic.
The business relationship between Du and José Blanco’s circle was also reflected in the creation of Acento Asia. The company was established in 2020 and later appointed the Chinese businessman as an authorized representative. Acento, meanwhile, had begun operating in Spain in the field of institutional relations and was later registered as a lobbying group in Brussels.
Du also maintained ties to the technology sector and to investments involving Chinese companies. For several years, he worked as an adviser to Huawei in Spain and took part in business operations linked to the expansion of Chinese capital into Spanish companies. These included Grupo Puentes, a construction company acquired in 2020 by a Chinese state-owned company.
The investigation has also focused on Du’s contacts with Víctor de Aldama, one of the main figures in the Koldo affair. According to information published about the case, the Chinese businessman turned to Aldama in an attempt to establish contact with Ábalos and promote matters involving Huawei with the government of Pedro Sánchez.
Another key factor is the link to José Ruz, the head of Levantina, Ingeniería y Construcción (LIC). Papers referenced in later files document a gathering involving Ruz, Koldo García, and Fangyong Du back in February 2021. Investigators deem this encounter significant due to Ruz’s pursuits regarding public works and Du’s commercial connections with Grupo Puentes.
Du’s professional trajectory has similarly drawn scrutiny from Spanish intelligence agencies. Multiple documents suggest that the National Intelligence Centre objected to bestowing Spanish nationality upon the entrepreneur back then due to suspected ties to Chinese espionage operations. Concurrently, Du cultivated connections with prominent figures in Spanish politics and commerce, besides being tied to the Gate Center, a network linked to the inner circle of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The combination of these contacts has led investigators to examine the relationships between businessmen, intermediaries and political officials who operated around the Ministry of Transport during Ábalos’s tenure. The network includes individuals connected to public procurement, business operations involving Chinese capital and arrangements carried out during the pandemic, all of which form part of the inquiries into the Koldo affair.
Source: The Objective — https://theobjective.com/espana/2026-05-09/amigo-chino-zapatero-trama-koldo-lobby-jose-blanco/
