The new judicial offensive against alleged irregularities in public procurement has uncovered a network which reaches key profiles of the political and corporate ecosystem linked to SEPI.
The operation, carried out by the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and directed by the National Court, leaves three names at the center of the scandal: Leire Díez, Vicente Fernández Guerrero and Antxon Alonso Egurrola.
Their arrests, although they respond to different lines of investigation, now converge in a common point that puts under the spotlight the relationship between public power, political influence and millionaire awards.
Leire Díez: the PSOE’s ‘plumber’ and the epicenter of suspicions
The most striking fall is that of Leire Díez Castro, a historic socialist militant and a key player in the party’s internal structure. Known as the plumber of Ferraz for her role in crisis management and in the organic coordination of the PSOE, Díez has gone from acting behind the scenes to occupying the center of an investigation for bribery, influence peddling and alleged interference in judicial processes.
His arrest is the result of an operation ordered by the Court of Instruction No. 9 of Madrid, although the proceedings which led to his arrest are part of a wider case led by the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) related to contracts awarded by entities which depend on SEPI.
Díez, who spent part of his career in public companies such as Enusa and Correos, is also under scrutiny for his role in awards to Sortis Telecomunicaciones. The company, linked to the Koldo case, obtained contracts for millions of euros during the pandemic, and investigators are analyzing whether commissions were paid and whether political influence was used to favor it.
All this is in addition to the content of a recording incorporated into the summary, where Díez herself is presented to the prosecutor Ignacio Stampa as the “right hand” of Santos Cerdán, who was her main reference within the socialist apparatus.
Vicente Fernandez: from Montero’s core of confidence to being investigated for contracts under suspicion
Another of those arrested is Vicente Fernández Guerrero, former president of SEPI in Andalusia and a long-serving official in the Junta. His arrest broadens the scope of the case, since Mr. Fernández was part of the most trusted circle of the Vice-President of the Government, María Jesús Montero, working for years as legal advisor and later as auditor general of the Andalusian government.
The investigations place him in the spotlight for his relationship with Servinabar 2000, a company also linked to the Koldo case and to the influence of the socialist leader Santos Cerdán. Fernandez would have worked for this firm for a year and a half, receiving remunerations that exceeded 100,000 euros per year, in a stage in which the company accumulated awards in Navarre despite its scarce real activity.
Although he was recently acquitted in the Aznalcóllar case, his arrest in this new operation indicates that the shadow of irregularities in public procurement continues to be cast over his career.
Antxon Alonso: key businessman and political nexus in several plots
The third detainee is Antxon Alonso Egurrola, a businessman with a presence in more than a dozen companies and a regular protagonist of investigations into irregular contracts in Navarra. His name already appeared in the so-called Cerdán case, due to his corporate link with Servinabar and his participation in public contracts that are now being questioned.
The Audiencia Nacional is analyzing whether Alonso acted as a manager in a network of illicit commissions, using companies such as Servinabar 2000 and Alegure SL to obtain contracts in joint ventures with large construction companies. In several of these agreements, the companies lacked sufficient activity to justify their role in the awards.
His profile combines businesses in sectors as diverse as mining, real estate, vending and energy, as well as transversal political connections. Alonso acted as mediator between figures of the PSOE, Basque nationalism and EH Bildu, a role that further fuels doubts about the purpose of these alliances.
Before his arrest, he was already subject to precautionary measures in the Cerdán case, including the withdrawal of his passport and the obligation to appear in court twice a month.
A plot that grows and spreads
The arrests of Mr. Díez, Mr. Fernández and Mr. Alonso reveal a web of personal relationships, public contracts and alleged political influences which affects several institutional levels. Although the cases are proceeding under the secrecy of summary proceedings, the coincidence in time of the arrests and SEPI’s participation in the origin of many contracts place the organization at the center of the biggest judicial earthquake which the Government’s entourage has been facing in the last few years.
The Audiencia Nacional continues to analyze documentation and contracts, and it is not ruled out that there will be more detainees or that both investigations (until now separate) will end up converging in a macro-process for corruption.
