Judge Ismael Moreno, coach Koldo case In the National Court, he rejected the Socialist Workers Party’s claims to limit the information it must provide about cash refund payments between 2017 and 2024. The judge indicated to the party that it must provide data on all payments made, “regardless” of the identity of the “recipient”; Which includes “all the people, positions, employees, supporters or volunteers” they look at. Moreno, who also ordered the submission of all “justified documents supporting the said payments”, thus rejects the claims of the Socialists, who sent a letter to the court asking it to clarify this point, because they understood that they should only send information related to the accused in the summary (such as Santos Cerdán, José Luis Albalos and Koldo García).
This decision comes by the judge within the framework of an open line of investigation Koldo case To investigate the system of cash reimbursement of expenses of former Minister José Luis Albalos and his former assistant Koldo García. The judge strengthened these investigations after his colleague Leopoldo Puente, a teacher of the Supreme Court, sent him a letter at the end of October warning him that “unknown persons” were appearing to “clarify” these payments. In this sense, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office added that there is a possibility of “a series of behaviors that could be classified as a criminal offence, from money laundering to possible embezzlement committed against” the Socialist Workers’ Party.
In this context, on November 26, coach Moreno asked Ferraz to send him within 10 days “a list of cash payments made” from 2017 to 2024, as well as “the supporting documents.” However, the party then responded with a request for clarification. The Socialists asked the judge to clarify whether they only had to provide details of the payments to the defendants (which they understood to be required of them, they indicated); Or, on the contrary, if they have to send to the national court information on “all cash payments to all persons during the entire period under investigation.” According to the Socialist Workers Party, this second option represents a surplus.
“The party will be asked to prove all expenses paid by the leaders, workers, activists, simple sympathizers or volunteers (…) There is no reason in law for all these people to reveal their identity and activity for the benefit of the Socialist Workers’ Party,” complained the party, which fears that these statements (affecting the “ideology and beliefs” of the people) will fall into the hands of the People’s Party and Vox, representing an accusation in the process: “By handing over all this information, in an uncritical manner and without material motive, my client will violate His duty to maintain confidentiality and preserve data.
But the judge in the Koldu case rejects the SWP thesis and concludes that the requested information points to important issues to clarify the facts. Therefore, the judge believes that requesting this data is valid and necessary. The Prosecutor’s Office also looked into this matter.