A businessman admits he wanted to meet with Cerdán to ask for more contracts.

MadridWith Santos Cerdán in prison since Monday, this Friday three businessmen linked to the case denied having paid commissions to the main defendants in exchange for public works contracts. These are José Ruz, a partner in Levantina, Engineering and Construction (LIC), and brothers Antonio and Daniel Fernández Menéndez, from Obras Públicas y Irrigation (OPR), also under investigation. In their appearances, they denied the main accusation—that the contracts resulted in financial compensation for politicians—but acknowledged the bulk of the conversations that appear in the report issued by the Civil Guard, which on June 12th circumvented the Spanish legislature. In fact, Ruz admitted that he wanted to meet with the former number three of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to demand more contracts, although neither the judge nor the prosecutor inquired whether they ever spoke. All three were released provisionally and required to appear in court every two weeks. Furthermore, Ruz's passport has been revoked and he is prohibited from leaving Spain.

"I wanted to speak with him so I could stop being last in the tender process, because I went from being among the first to being last. Someone from Acciona warned me that the PSOE had turned me down. That's why I wanted to speak with Cerdán," he emphasized during his questioning. The judge insisted. "I wanted to speak with Cerdán so that the company would be spoken of favorably, to make it known and thus win tenders," Ruz added, according to legal sources present at the statement. However, he did not say whether they actually met, making it clear that in no case was there any compensation involved.

This was the only time that Cerdán was specifically mentioned, whom the judge places in a "preeminent" position in the scheme and points to as the person who channeled the alleged compensation between the businessmen and the alleged beneficiaries of the money: Ábalos and Koldo García. The former Navarrese politician's defense team expressed surprise that neither the prosecutor nor the judge had inquired about the "main reason" that led to Cerdán's provisional imprisonment. The businessmen who appeared defended the legitimacy of having good relations with the public administration to secure public concessions and admitted contacts with former Adif president Isabel Pardo de Vera and former Highway Director Javier Herrero regarding certain suspicious contracts.

A salary for Koldo?

One of the things that appears in the UCO report is an alleged salary that Koldo García allegedly received after leaving the ministry, which the Civil Guard links to illegal commissions. Ruz has placed this in the context of security work that the former Ábalos advisor allegedly did for a company related to LIC. This businessman did acknowledge the use of a mobile phone and a disposable SIM card, something suspicious in the eyes of investigators, but Ruz has downplayed this importance. He also admitted that these more secure phone lines were referred to as "cafetera" or "café."

Among other things, OPR businessman Daniel Menéndez has admitted that, at Koldo García's request, a subsidiary of his company hired the wife of the former Ábalos advisor, Patricia Uriz, because she had financial needs.