The judges tighten the noose on Santos Cerdán for alleged schemes of rigging, commissions, and maneuvers against investigations

Santos Cerdán has become one of the central pieces of the judicial investigations affecting the environment of the PSOE. The former secretary of the party is being investigated in several cases in which judges and Guardia Civil attribute to him a role of leadership in alleged networks of public works rigging, collection of commissions, and operations aimed at interfering in judicial procedures sensitive for the Government.

The report by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) that precipitated his resignation was incorporated into the so-called ‘Koldo case’, an investigation led by the Supreme Court magistrate Leopoldo Puente. In that case, the former minister José Luis Ábalos, his former advisor Koldo García, and the businessman Víctor de Aldama are already prosecuted for alleged irregularities in contracts for sanitary material during the pandemic.

According to the investigators, the intercepted conversations would reflect attempts to claim alleged commissions derived from public works awards, especially linked to Acciona. The UCO maintains that Cerdán and Koldo García would have articulated a structure related to the Navarrese company Servinabar, a company to which the former socialist leader would be linked as owner of 45%.

The Guardia Civil also points out that Servinabar would have received a percentage of the contracts awarded in temporary business unions and that part of those funds would have allegedly benefited Cerdán and his family environment through payrolls, rents, and personal expenses charged to cards linked to the company.

The seriousness of the evidence led the instructor to send Cerdán to provisional prison last year, considering that there was a high risk of destruction or concealment of evidence. The magistrate attributed to him crimes of criminal organization, bribery, and influence peddling, highlighting an alleged position of “preeminence” within the investigated plot. Months later, he was released with precautionary measures.

Parallel, the Audiencia Nacional investigates another alleged network related to SEPI contracts. In this case appear the former socialist militant Leire Díez, the former president of SEPI Vicente Fernández, and the businessman Antxon Alonso, Cerdán's partner. The investigators suspect that the group would have obtained commissions through operations linked to public companies and organizations dependent on the state holding.

The judge Santiago Pedraz considers that Cerdán would be part of the group called “Hirurok”, although with a hierarchical role superior to the rest of the members. Among the operations under suspicion is the rescue of Tubos Reunidos for more than 112 million euros and an award from Mercasa to Servinabar related to a report on the headquarters of the public company.

The judicial situation of the former socialist leader has worsened even further this week after his indictment in a new line of investigation about an alleged plot aimed at destabilizing judicial procedures affecting the PSOE and the Government. Pedraz investigates whether maneuvers were promoted from the socialist environment to obtain sensitive information about judges, prosecutors, and members of the security forces involved in different cases.

The magistrate maintains that Cerdán would have played a “superior role” in this alleged organization and points to a close relationship with Leire Díez, whom he allegedly tasked with coordinating actions to influence judicial investigations. The case includes accusations as serious as criminal organization, bribery, revelation of secrets, influence peddling, and crimes against State institutions.