The judge of the National Court Antonio Piña released Leire DiezTHE plumber of the PSOE; has Vicente Fernándezformer president of the State Company of Industrial Participations (SEPI), and the manufacturer Antxón Alonso.
All were arrested this Wednesday by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard. And this Saturday they were brought to justice, before the National Court, which is investigating them for allegedly being part of a corruption plot intended to collect illegal commissions from companies in exchange for certain influence.
The anti-corruption prosecution, represented by Elisa Lamelas Oliván, did not request the provisional detention of any of them. Only withdrawal of passport, ban on leaving Spain and twice-weekly appearances in court. For this reason, the judge cannot send them to prison as a preventive measure.
The investigation, during which numerous searches of public entities and private companies were carried out, continues under summary secrecy.
The crimes under investigation include embezzlement, influence peddling, criminal organization and prevarication.
Antxon Alonso is the owner of the small construction company Servinabar 2000 SL. And as revealed by EL ESPAÑOLit is he, with his friend Santos Cerdán, who already former organizational secretary of the PSOE, who influenced the Ministry of Ecological Transition in favor of private enterprise Forestalia and other renewable companies that paid for both.
Furthermore, during a search of the headquarters of Servinabar 2000 and the address of its owner, the UCO found a contract, signed by Cerdán on each of its six pages, through which the politician acquired 45% of the construction company for only 6,000 euros.
Despite its small size, Antxon Alonso’s company has benefited from multi-million dollar contracts, such as the renovation of the Belate tunnels (Navarra) or the expansion of the Centennial Bridge in Seville.
In both cases, Servinabar 2000 participated in a UTE (temporary joint venture) with Acciona. A UCO report indicates that Cerdán allegedly managed illegal commissions paid by this construction company to the former Minister of Transport. Jose Luis Abalos and to his principal advisor, Koldo Garcia.
For his part, Leire Díez, known as plumber of the PSOE, was already the subject of an investigation by a court in Madrid for his actions aimed at obtaining information, precisely, from the Anti-Corruption and the UCO to squander its investigations.
To do this, the woman went so far as to offer legal advantages to her interlocutors and presented herself as an emissary of the PSOE and as a “right hand“by Santos Cerdán.
In turn, Vicente Fernández was a man of the greatest confidence of the Minister of Finance, Maria Jesus Montero. After leaving SEPI, he ended up being hired in 2021 by, precisely, Servinabar 2000.
The “Aznalcóllar case”
Servinabar’s signing of the former SEPI president took place after Fernández was indicted in the trial. Aznalcóllar casea legal case linked to the concession of a mine. Less than a week ago, he was acquitted.
The hiring took place in 2021, after Minister Montero’s plan to quickly file the file so he could reinstate his position was thwarted. It didn’t happen like that: he was tried and the acquittal only came last week.
Vicente Fernández was a man very close to the current minister Montero, who currently denies it. It was the head of the Treasury who personally approved his appointment to SEPI after the two coincided within the Junta de Andalucía.
When questioned in the Senate, during the call Koldo Commissionthe PP questioned Fernández about the Aznalcóllar case and the alleged actions of Leire Díez to boycott this cause.
“Aren’t you going to tell us why Leire Díez favored contacts with journalists to promote a current of opinion favorable to the judicial closure of the Aznalcóllar case? Or why did Leire Díez present a full argument against the company that filed a complaint with the Junta de Andalucía, Emerita Resources?”, asked a Popular Party senator.
EL ESPAÑOL attempted to contact Emerita Resources. So far there has been no response.
What this newspaper can confirm is that Leire Díez went to numerous media outlets, including this newspaper, to try to publish favorable information about Fernández.
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