Encuentran pendrive del Gobierno cántabro en casa de constructor del caso Koldo.
The operations conducted by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard in the alleged scheme of public works manipulation in the ‘Koldo case’ led to the seizure of a vast amount of physical documentation and electronic devices, including a USB drive from the Government of Cantabria found in the Valencia home of constructor José Ruz.
The blue USB drive is imprinted with the label ‘Government of Cantabria Department of Public Works and Housing’, the name of the department that was changed in 2023 with the arrival of the People’s Party (PP) in the government, transitioning to the Department of Development, which also manages the competencies of Housing, Land Use Planning, and Urbanism. Therefore, the USB drive would presumably belong to previous periods when the region was governed by the Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
Ruz is a shareholder of the company Levantina, Engineering, and Construction (LIC), to which Adif awarded a contract worth 2.1 million euros in June 2023 for the reinforcement of the Raos viaduct, part of the Santander-Bilbao narrow-gauge railway passing through Cantabria.
In the report concerning the former Socialist Party’s Secretary of Organization, Santos Cerdán, the UCO states that this businessman «has become a common element among the main suspects – Koldo García, José Luis Ábalos, and Víctor de Aldama – having held meetings with all of them and providing updates on the outcomes.» He was an advisor to the former Minister of Transport.
During the searches carried out, a «scheme» related to Ábalos, a reservation at Hostal Mediterránea, and «historical contracts» were found. The report obtained by Europa Press details the items seized by the agents during the operations conducted on June 10 and 11 in various locations including Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia, Navarra, the Basque Country, and Castilla-La Mancha.
In the search conducted at the Granada residence of Antonio Fernández Menéndez, believed to be the legal representative of the company Public Works and Irrigation (OPR), a collection of documents was found, including a handwritten temporal scheme featuring the name ‘Ábalos’. This set of documents also included «historical contracts from the Ministry of Development and OPR,» as well as «the draft 2023 schedule of the General Infrastructure Subdirectorate.»
The Supreme Court ordered searches at the homes of Fernández Menéndez and his brother Daniel, co-administrator of OPR, due to suspicions that in collusion with Ábalos and his former ministerial advisor Koldo García, they may have obtained public works contracts from the Ministry in exchange for financial benefits. Specifically, the UCO mentioned contracts in Asturias and Galicia.
It was noted that the Fernández Menéndez brothers are related by marriage to Fernando Merino, a former executive of Acciona Construction in Navarra, who allegedly introduced them to Koldo. It was also suggested that the former ministerial advisor’s wife had obtained a job at Anfersa, a company linked to OPR, where she may not have actually carried out any work duties.
At Ábalos’ residence in Valencia, the UCO found 34 digital pieces of evidence, including multiple USB drives with the logos of the Congress of Deputies, the PSOE, the Valencian Government, Etosa Constructora, and one labeled «For being a girl.» Among the documents discovered were a reservation at Hostal Mediterránea and a loan agreement between Ábalos and his son, with the son acting as the lender.
Furthermore, during the search of the garage at the residence of Antxón Alonso Egurrola from Servinabar, the agents found a total of €16,180 concealed in various ZIP bags hidden inside backpacks. The money was divided into bundles of €10 to €200 bills, including two bundles of 100 €50 bills each. The UCO proceeded to deposit the money into the judicial deposit account of the Supreme Court on the same day.
The Civil Guard seized numerous electronic devices, a significant amount of paper documentation, and copies of several email accounts – including Ábalos’ – during the searches conducted at the mentioned residences, as well as at the headquarters of OPR, Servinabar, and Levantina, Engineering, and Construction (LIC).
FUENTE
