The president of the Court of Instruction number 6 of the National Court, Antonio Piña, believes that the former PSOE activist Leire Díez and the former director of the National Company of Industrial Participations (SEPI) Vicente Fernández Guerrero formed a structure to collect allegedly illegal commissions between 2021 and 2023, and to do this they had the help of “various public officials”. In total, the investigation concerns five transactions totaling 132.9 million euros. The commissions were allegedly routed through a company called Mediaciones Martínez SL and it is estimated that they charged 750,614 euros for the intermediation work.
According to the judge’s letter to which EL PAÍS had access, the role of the former director of SEPI between June 2018 and October 2019 was essential because of his “ability to influence certain people linked to public service”. Investigators believe that “he could have directed various files pursued in the public administration, for his own benefit or that of third parties”, taking advantage of his condition, once appointed by the Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero.
The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard found a group called “Hirurok” (which would mean “the three of us” in Basque). In addition to Fernández Guerrero and Leire Díez, there would also be Joseba Antxon Alonso, whom investigators place as an associate of the former PSOE organizational secretary Santos Cerdán in the company Servinabar SL, which is being analyzed by the Supreme Court for participation in public works contracts rigged by the Ministry of Transport.
“In the perfection of this system, the members of the group would have acted in a coordinated manner with the ultimate goal of obtaining the maximum economic benefit through the collection of commissions,” specifies the magistrate. The UCO’s preliminary investigation made it possible to verify “various elements” with which the judge deduces that the criminal period extends at least two years and the projection of the network reaches “different parts of the national territory” as well as “several public administrations”.
To the three accused is added a fourth, the head of the public uranium company Enusa, José Vicente Berlanga, right-hand man of former minister José Luis Ábalos, who was not arrested last Thursday when the Civil Guard exploited this operation and carried out 19 searches throughout Spain. “The people investigated would have adopted security measures to guarantee the strictest discretion and confidentiality of their actions,” explains Piña.
Five operations
Five operations are underway and involve entities dependent on SEPI. First, the rescue granted by the Company to the company Tubos Reunidos SA for a value of 112.8 million euros. “The evidence collected shows that the Hirurok group would have carried out actions aimed at granting this aid,” the letter specifies. For this operation, they obtained 114,950 euros in “apparently false” commission through Mediaciones Martínez.
Second, the award of a public contract by Mercasa (public company in the food sector) for an amount of 18,119 euros. “Hirurok carried out his activity (…) with the intention of changing the headquarters of the public company,” indicates the instructor of the National Court. In this case, a contract was given to Servinabar – the company in which Cerdán supposedly holds 45% of the shares – to publish a “technical report”. The investigators speak of the “uselessness (sic) of this contract” and the “falsehood of its content”.
The third suspect contract belongs to the Business Park of the Principality of Asturias (PEPA) in favor of a temporary joint venture (UTE) formed by Construcciones y Excavaciones Erriberri and Afesa Medioambiente for an amount of 2.8 million euros. Investigations indicate that Leire Díez’s group “would have had the possibility of benefiting” from the Erriberri company in the process, for which it would have obtained a consideration of 400,000 euros.
The public company Enusa, for which the former PSOE activist also worked in the communications department, awarded a fourth contract to the law firm Carrillo y Montes. The operation takes place at a time when the Acciona company was interested in acquiring two stakes held by the public company: an incinerator in Melilla and a waste treatment plant in Castellón. “In this context, several directors of the aforementioned public company, as well as the three members of the group, would have developed a plan to make this operation visible and, moreover, obtain an economic return,” indicates the judge.
The investigation maintains that the Hirurok group had the capacity to decide on this hiring of the law firm “with the apparent aim of providing legal support for the development of the operation”. For this distribution, Mediaciones Martínez received 17,545 euros.
The last operation examined is the granting of “aid” granted by the National Society for Industrial Promotion and Business Development (Sepides) to the Arapellet company (belonging to Forestalia) for a value of 17.32 million euros. The UCO maintains that the group “would have carried out a certain type of activity in front of public officials” of this entity and, in exchange, they would have received 200,000 euros.
Most of these funds were intended to make real estate investments in Marbella and Jaca. These investments were “common”, meaning they are linked to the three main surveys. But another part of the funds was allocated individually to group members. In the case of Vicente Fernández, investigations show that he obtained “at least” 49,350 euros “through a series of transfers and collections”. It should be remembered that the former director of SEPI was hired between 2021 and 2023 at Servinabar for what he received from this company under the influence of the Supreme Court a total of 128,092 euros.
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