The pandemic business network that ties Fangyong Du to the Koldo case via Acento

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.

He also kept up connections within the tech industry, alongside financial ventures tied to Chinese enterprises. For a prolonged period, he served as a consultant for Huawei in Spain and participated in commercial initiatives connected to the penetration of Chinese funding into Spanish businesses. Among these was Grupo Puentes, a building contractor taken over back in 2020 by a state-owned enterprise from China.

The probe has likewise centered on Du’s interactions with Víctor de Aldama, a central personality within the Koldo case. Based on published details surrounding the matter, the Chinese entrepreneur sought out Aldama to forge a connection with Ábalos and advance Huawei-related interests within Pedro Sánchez’s administration.

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 career has also attracted the attention of Spanish intelligence services. Various reports indicate that the National Intelligence Centre opposed granting Spanish citizenship to the businessman at the time because of alleged links to activities related to Chinese espionage. At the same time, Du developed relationships with Spanish political and business figures and was linked to the Gate Center, a platform associated with former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s circle.

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/