Two PSOE employees implicate Cerdán in 'plumber' travel arrangements
Celia Rodríguez and Covadonga San Pedro testified before Judge Pedraz that it was Santos Cerdán who ordered the purchase of tickets for Leire Díez and authorised her access to Ferraz.
Testimony brings PSOE closer to indictment in Cloacas case
Testimony from two PSOE employees before the National Court brought the party closer to a possible indictment in the Cloacas case, according to El Mundo. Celia Rodríguez and Covadonga San Pedro appeared as witnesses before Judge Santiago Pedraz, who is investigating the manoeuvres of so-called 'plumber' Leire Díez to sabotage legal proceedings affecting the PSOE and the Government.
Both worked in the party's Organisation area and covered different shifts. According to sources familiar with the testimony, they singled out Santos Cerdán as the person directly responsible for all matters relating to Díez: he was the one who ordered them to purchase train or plane tickets for the plumber and who authorised her access to the garage of the party's central headquarters on Ferraz Street.
Meetings unregistered in diary and car park access
The witnesses stated that Cerdán's meetings with Díez were not recorded in his diary as Organisation secretary at the time. They recalled between two and three encounters, at which businessman Javier Pérez Dolset and Juanfran Serrano, who was Cerdán's right-hand man at that time, were also present.
With regard to access to the Ferraz car park, Rodríguez and San Pedro confirmed having authorised numerous entries by Díez. Reports from the UCO (police unit) put the number of registered visits at 18. The witnesses clarified, however, that the fact that Díez parked at the headquarters did not necessarily imply a meeting with any party leader, as on occasions she simply left her vehicle there and departed.
The joint testimony of both before the investigating judge lasted less than an hour. The case of Díez was, as they corroborated, exceptional: each transaction required individual authorisation from Cerdán.
Party compliance under scrutiny
The key to the PSOE's defence against a possible indictment lies in demonstrating that it had a regulatory compliance procedure in place—known as criminal compliance—and that it applied it effectively. The obligation to establish such a mechanism was activated by a 2015 legal reform. The PSOE's compliance procedure was approved in 2018, when the now-convicted José Luis Ábalos was Organisation secretary.
However, the witnesses indicated that there was a 40-page document on how they should conduct themselves, though they admitted they did not consult it regularly because they did not consider it necessary in their day-to-day work. This statement complicates the party's argument that compliance was applied rigorously.
Intercepted phones and a manager still under investigation
On the day of the search of the Ferraz headquarters, the UCO intercepted the phones of the two witnesses. Judge Pedraz ultimately did not authorise full access to their contents, although he did request both to allow review of messages exchanged with Díez, Cerdán, Juanma Serrano—investigated for alleged corruption at Sepi—and PSOE manager Ana María Fuentes.
Fuentes continues under investigation and is scheduled to testify on 9 September. During the period covered by Pedraz's investigation, she was precisely the person responsible for the PSOE's regulatory compliance.
When prosecutors asked the witnesses about Fuentes' role, their responses were imprecise, according to the same sources. They did not clarify how the final stage of authorisation for paying Díez's tickets worked, and merely indicated in general terms that this was handled by the party's administration area.
Two-front legal battle for PSOE
The Cloacas case is not the only risk of indictment facing the party. On the orders of the Supreme Court, Judge Ismael Moreno opened at the National Court a separate proceeding—still under secrecy—within the Koldo case, focused on the alleged movement of cash at the Ferraz headquarters. The PSOE thus faces a two-front legal battle in which the figure of Cerdán and the internal functioning of the organisation occupy a central place in both investigations.
Source: El Mundo