The UCO searches several Acciona offices in connection with the Ábalos case

MadridThe Supreme Court judge investigating José Luis Ábalos, Leopoldo Puente, has already found sufficient evidence to send him to trial for alleged irregularities in mask contracts. Conversely, the magistrate is taking further steps to try to secure the other branch of the case, related to public works contracts. The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard searched the Madrid and Bilbao headquarters of Acciona, one of the construction companies under investigation, this Friday. Sources close to the investigation confirmed to ARA that the search was carried out as part of a separate, secret branch of the case that led to the provisional imprisonment of the former number three of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán. In the mask-related branch, the former Minister of Transport and his former advisor, Koldo García, and the middleman Víctor de Aldama are under scrutiny. In the ongoing investigation into public works contracts, Ábalos and Koldo are the common denominators, and Cerdán's alleged involvement in the network of illegal commissions in exchange for awarding contracts has been added to the case. The UCO report that led to the resignation of the former Socialist Party organizing secretary referred to contracts pre-awarded to Acciona—one of them in Catalonia—which the three individuals under investigation discussed in conversations analyzed by the Civil Guard. In these conversations, they mentioned the amounts they still owed in commissions they allegedly received in exchange for [BK_SLT_LNA]. The multinational founded and controlled by the Entrecanales family is one of the main construction companies implicated in the Cerdán case, to the point that it represented the dismissal of the director of the construction area in Spain, Justo Vicente PelegriniIts appearance in the UCO report caused a major shock to the company, which also terminated its contracts and partnership agreements with Servinabar 2000, a company also under investigation by the Supreme Court for its involvement in the scheme and alleged connection to Cerdán from the period before his arrival.

Where is the money?

According to the UCO report cited by Cerdán, the former third-ranking Socialist Party official managed the collection and distribution of commissions from construction companies like Acciona, and the amount he paid as an intermediary totaled €620,000. The purpose of the search is to obtain further documentation to support these allegations. Another pending matter is tracing the money Cerdán allegedly received. So far, according to his defense, no transfer or bribe from which he directly benefited has been found.

"That son of a bitch Santos has kept some money, and he did it right in front of me, okay? And I'm getting really pissed off."Koldo told Ábalos in a conversation included in the report on construction company commissions. It remains to be seen whether the search of Acciona will shed light on these suspicions.