Acciona dismisses its director of construction in Spain following the Cerdán case report.

MadridFirst major move at Acciona after its name appeared in the report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard within the framework of the so-called Cerdán case and which involves the former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), Santos Cerdán; the former Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos; and his former advisor, Koldo García, in a scheme to allegedly collect illegal commissions. The construction company chaired by José Manuel Entrecanales has announced the dismissal of the head of its Construction department in Spain, Justo Vicente Pelegrini, as well as the termination of the current contracts with the company Servinabar 2000, which also appears in the UCO report.

"Acciona has decided to initiate the procedures for the termination of the current contracts and association agreements that link the company or any of its subsidiaries with Servinabar 2000, a company that is the subject of investigation in the case brought by the Supreme Court. The measure is in response to Servi00 Acciona Construcción's failure to respect and adhere to the most demanding standards of regulatory compliance, transparency and due diligence," the company reported in a press release on Monday afternoon.

As a result, the company explains in the statement that "to the extent that this breach reveals a lack of diligence in the exercise of its management responsibilities, [Acciona] has decided to terminate the employment relationship with Justo Vicente Pelegrini, until now Director of Construction in Spain." "The measure does not prejudge possible legal liabilities nor respond to any conclusions in the internal investigation, which is still in an initial phase," the construction company adds.

Acciona is one of the companies under scrutiny in the framework of the plot formed by Koldo García, José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán and which allegedly helped the company win.public works contracts in exchange for receiving illegal kickbacks. The link with the Navarrese construction company Servinabar dates back to 2015 with the beginning of the relationship between the construction company, Cerdán, and García through the director of Acciona Construcción for La Rioja and Navarra, Fernando Merino, who was dismissed in 2021. ~BK_O_ on the table of the Supreme Court, focuses on a public works project in which the Entrecanales construction company and Servinabar were involved together through a joint venture. "The added value that the company [Servinabar] could bring to the joint venture with Acciona made sense in the relationship between Santos, Koldo, and both companies," says the UCO report.

In the statement, Acciona reaffirms "its full willingness to cooperate with the authorities in clarifying the facts" and its "commitment to operating with the highest standards of ethics, transparency, and regulatory compliance. [...] The company strongly rejects any irregular practices in contracting matters.