Judge and prosecutor suspect Cerdán could manipulate witnesses

Former PSOE organizational secretary Santos Cerdán has spent his second night in Madrid's Soto del Real prison, where he will remain for an indefinite period. The Supreme Court judge and the chief prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Unit will not release him until they determine where the money they suspect he is hiding is and unravel who the corruptors were, how many projects were rigged, and how much commission was paid. The only person with knowledge of how the corruption scheme was organized and operated, according to investigators, is the man who was a close confidant of Pedro Sánchez, PSOE general secretary and Prime Minister, until just a few weeks ago.

So Cerdán has the option of waiting for investigators to decipher the code—if they succeed—or helping them do so, which would allow him preferential treatment and potentially allow him to be released from prison, as did one of the corruptors in this plot, Víctor de Aldama, who acknowledged paying bribes in exchange for his freedom. Both investigator Leopoldo Puente and prosecutor Alejandro Luzón have serious suspicions that if Cerdán is released, he could manipulate the case, attempting to silence witnesses or even force them to alter their testimony when the time comes. Those responsible for the case want to avoid pressure on witnesses or other suspects. Two weeks ago, former minister José Luis Ábalos expressed his willingness to reach an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office—a situation that only occurs if there is an acknowledgment of facts—and to provide information useful to the investigation. However, when he was summoned to testify before the judge last week, he reversed himself and denied any wrongdoing.

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The judge maintains that only Cerdán knows which companies have paid for rigging and how much.

The judge and prosecutor cannot risk this happening at such an "early" stage of the investigation, when the scope of the plot and who else may be involved are still unknown. This is the main reason why the former number three of the Socialists has ended up in prison, while his two other cronies, Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García, are free.

The judge already noted in the arrest warrant that the difference stems from Cerdán's "functional position" relative to the other two. Ábalos and García were unaware of the individuals who provided the bribes or their amounts. The judge's theory is that Cerdán gave them the name of the project and the company that was to be awarded the contract, and for this they received a financial reward. Cerdán managed the rest of the "loot." "This particular and decisive knowledge is what could allow us to fully reveal" all those involved in this scheme, including the corrupting companies, as well as all the commissions in order to try to recover, "at least partially, what was still possible."

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The Central Operational Unit (UCO) is now tasked with searching for Cerdán's royal assets. Until they are found, he won't be released from prison, because otherwise, he could maneuver to move and hide them.