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A SENIOR member of the PSOE Socialist Party has resigned due to a corruption investigation that could threaten the minority government led by the PSOE.
According to a recently published report, Santos Cerdan is suspected of complicity in the alleged improper allocation of public contracts.
The Supreme Court said a Guardia Civil report and an audio recording ‘reveals the existence of consistent evidence’ suggesting that Cerdan acted in collusion with former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos and his ex-adviser, Koldo Garcia in exchange for money.
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The probe suggests that they pocketed a total of €620,000 in bribes with Abalos already under investigation.
Cerdan announced via a press release on Thursday that he would be resigning from his position as PSOE organisation secretary as well as being a PSOE delegate in Congress.
He said his departure was ‘the best thing for the PSOE’ and he stressed his innocence.
Cerdan will appear before the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday, June 25, to testify.
“I have absolutely no fear.” “I am absolutely certain that I won’t be accused of corrupting,” he said when he arrived at Congress on Thursday, before he resigned.
The leader of the Partido Popular- the main opposition party in Congress- Alberto Nuñez Feijoo described the situation created by the Guardia report as ‘extremely serious’.
He has, however, ruled out at this time trying to bring the government down via a motion of censure.
He said, “We will not rush or improvise.”
The PSOE’s partner in coalition is the extreme-left Sumar Party led by Labour minister YolandaDiaz.
She has called on the PSOE to ‘offer explanations as soon as possible’ about the audio tape obtained by the Guardia Civil.
She commented, “Whatever we learn is of great importance.”
The recording appears to have mentioned that up to four companies were owed kickbacks by Cerdan as payment for rigging the public works contracts.
In a second report submitted to the court by Guardia, it is alleged that Sanchez was elected as leader of his party in 2014 with votes manipulated.
It is important to note that the word “you” means “you”. ABC newspaper has reported about a tape featuring a conversation between Cerdan and Koldo García in which the former asks the latter to improperly influence the election.
Cerdan is recorded saying: “When I finish, you can mark the two votes you missed as if you had voted, without anyone noticing you. You can also enter two ballots.”
Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gomez, and his brother, David Sanchez, are also being investigated for corruption in different cases.
Sanchez dismissed the investigations against members of his inner-circle as part of “a smear campaign”, carried out by his right-wing opponents to undermine his government.
Felipe Gonzalez – the PSOE’s prime minister from 1982 to 1996 – has joined Sanchez in calling for an early election.
