The defense of Santos Cerdán, former number three of Pedro Sánchez at the PSOE, joined the appeal filed by the prosecution against the decision of the investigating court number 24 of Madrid of open proceedings against him for an alleged offense of perjuryconsisting of having lied during his first appearance before the “Koldo commission” of the Senate.
It was April 30, 2024, two months after the arrest of Koldo García Izaguirreassistant to former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, for a complaint from the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office regarding the rigging of mask contracts in favor of a company for which Víctor de Aldama was an intermediary.
It was from this investigation that signs of an alleged broader corruption conspiracy emerged, dedicated to the collection of commissions for the award of works contracts, which the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court and the Central Investigating Court number 2 of the National Court are currently trying to elucidate.
Cerdán’s “intruths” during his first appearance in the Senate
But in spring 2024, only the people concerned had this information. For Cerdán, it was another time: he presented himself to the Upper House supported by a cohort of senators from the socialist group, including the spokesperson, Alphonse Gilhe was heard to say: “I did the exercise of looking for any relationship that you have with all of this and, beyond some slander from those of the hate factory or the mud machine“I didn’t see anything at all.”
Gil also invoked the condition of “co-author of the PSOE ethical code” by Cerdánwho distanced himself from any knowledge or relationship with the transport mask contracts.
The PSOE’s organizational secretary at the time described a close relationship with Ábalos (who would be investigated seven months later), but little more than casual with Koldo García.
“I have continuous contact with Mr. Ábalos, because he was still secretary of the Socialist Party Organization and I was secretary of Territorial Coordination and, obviously, when I was with Ábalos on several occasions we agreed with Koldo because what’s more, it was a driver who accompanied him everywhere.”
When PP senator Gerardo Camps told him that “in the court file it appears that the UCO says that you and Koldo García spoke frequently,” Cerdán said that “I hope the conversations and messages are heard from WhatsApp, if there is one, and You will see that there is no connection“.
These messages and conversations surfaced in June 2025 in a devastating report from the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard.
The UCO provided audio recordings on Koldo García’s phones, in which Cerdán talks about commission distribution.
And it included WhatsApp messages in which the socialist leader of the time was interested in rewards for work that would have given rise to the receipt of orders.
Cerdán was summoned to testify because being the subject of an investigation by the Supreme Court investigator, Leopoldo Puente, he resigned from his position as organizational secretary of the PSOE and, four days later, he handed in his deputy certificate.
Second criminal procedure
The procedure opened by the Court of Instruction number 24 of Madrid represents his second criminal procedure.
The Penal Code punishes with imprisonment of six months to one year or a fine of 12 to 24 months anyone, “summoned before a parliamentary commission of inquiry, who does not respect the truth in their testimony”.
“The appearing party (…) would have been essentially falsewhile there are indications that there is a clear discrepancy between his story and the material reality for which he was questioned,” said the judge in the resolution by which last October she admitted to processing a complaint from Hazte Oír.
“This deviation would be manifest and evident in view of the content of the report prepared by the Civil Guard,” he added.
The instructor reaffirmed her decision to open the procedure on December 18 by rejecting the appeals for reform from the prosecutor and the former socialist leader.
Whether the process is open or not will be definitively resolved by the Provincial Court of Madrid. Cerdán’s defense did not file its own appeal, but joined that of the prosecution.
He argues that the crime “consists of not telling the truth and that there must therefore be proof of the truth for the lie to be admitted.”
According to him, “what was declared by the UCO (…) cannot be preached as the truth nor, therefore, maintain the existence of indications of lying about what he was accused of or in a different sense.
“Having proven nothing in any judicial resolution against what Cerdán argued to the Commission, he cannot in any case be prosecuted for having committed an alleged crime of false testimony for what he declared during it,” he affirms.
It also states that “even in the event that, at some point, it is declared proven that Cerdán to the Commission which is the subject of the complaint committed a liehis protests are the subject of a judicial investigation, giving rise to a situation in which, clearly, the constitutional rights recognized in Article 24 of the Constitution (non-self-incrimination and defense) collide with the functions of any commission of inquiry.
According to him, the right to defend oneself and not to incriminate oneself constitute “limits to the powers of commissions of inquiry”.
“No person appearing before a House should lose their fundamental rights or find themselves in a worse situation than in court,” he said, copying a report on false testimony before a parliamentary commission of inquiry published in 2018 by the Senate legal services.
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