Cerdán arrives to testify before the Supreme Court regarding alleged rigging of public works amid cries of "corrupt"

Former PSOE secretary general Santos Cerdán arrived at the Supreme Court (TS) this Monday amid cries of "corrupt" and "shameless" to testify as a defendant in the alleged scheme to collect commissions in exchange for public works contracts, which is being investigated as part of the so-called "Koldo case."

Cerdán arrived shortly before 10:00 a.m., the scheduled time, amid great media anticipation. Accompanied by his lawyer, Benet Salellas, he chose not to make any statements to the press.

Judge Leopoldo Puente summoned him to court after receiving a report from the Civil Guard's Central Operational Unit (UCO) that placed him at the epicenter of said corruption, along with former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos and his former ministerial advisor Koldo García.

Defense sources indicate that Cerdán is willing to testify on the charges of organized crime and bribery, although he has already publicly stated that he does not recognize himself in the audio recordings on which the report is based, so everything indicates that he could make the same plea before the high court.

The investigating judge has already announced that after taking his statement, he will consider adopting precautionary measures against him. He has decided to prohibit Ábalos, Koldo, and the alleged mastermind of the scheme, businessman Víctor de Aldama, from leaving the country, to withdraw their passports, and to require them to appear regularly in court.

Cerdán's involvement in the Koldo case came as a result of the report prepared by the UCO based on audio recordings recorded by Koldo between 2029 and 2023 that reflect conversations between them and Ábalos, as well as WhatsApp messages they exchanged.

According to the agents, the alleged plot began in 2015 in Navarra—Cerdán and Koldo's area of ​​influence—with them as protagonists and grew as both they and later Ábalos gained political prominence.

Investigators suggest that Cerdán's role in these alleged corruption schemes shifted. Thus, with Ábalos and Koldo's rise to the Ministry of Transport, he diminished, becoming a "payments" manager, while after their fall, he returned to the top, according to the UCO.

The Civil Guard maintains that the public works contracts under investigation were awarded to the construction companies Acciona, Obras Públicas y Irrigation (OPR), and Levantina Ingeniería y Construcción (LIC). The kickbacks they allegedly received from Acciona alone amounted to €620,000, although they are owed €450,000. "I'm going after everything," Cerdán asserted.

One of the key points of Cerdán's questioning is expected to be the private contract that the UCO (Central Court of Justice) found on June 10 during a search of the home of businessman Joseba Antxón Alonso Egurrola. The document, submitted to the Supreme Court, shows that in 2016—one year after the alleged scheme began—the former Socialist leader purchased 45% of Servinabar for €6,000.

The UCO report shows that this company, in which Alonso Egurrola appears as the sole director, received more than 75 million euros in public works contracts awarded by the Navarrese government, which are under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.

Cerdán's defense team questioned the validity of the document, reducing it to "a mere private contract that was never elevated to public status" and, therefore, "had no legal effect, nor has it had any legal effect."

However, the General Council of Notaries has explained that private contracts not formalized as public deeds, as would be the case here, are effective between the signatories, but not with third parties, while warning that they often seek to conceal the true owner.