The five businessmen named in the UCO report for the 'Koldo case'

The Supreme Court judge investigating former minister José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García ordered a search of the homes of five businessmen, not under investigation , who appear in the latest report from the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard for their alleged involvement in rigging public works contracts .

According to the UCO (Central University of Catalonia), the suspicious contracts were awarded to the construction companies Acciona , Obras Públicas y Irrigación (OPR), and Levantina Ingeniería y Construcción (LIC), for projects destined for Andalusia, Asturias, Catalonia, Galicia, La Rioja, the Region of Murcia, and Teruel. The Anti-Corruption Office requested that the addresses of five businessmen be searched .

The Prosecutor's Office acted on the basis of the report in which the agents analyzed the recordings made by Koldo between 2019 and 2023 , found on the devices seized from him in February 2024. In the conversations it is seen that Koldo himself, Ábalos and the until Thursday Secretary of Organization of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán , were trying to collect "alleged financial compensation owed after the awarding of the work."

These are the businessmen who allegedly participated in the events:

Fernando Merino

Former official of Acciona Infrastructure and Acciona Construction . "His participation in the events is related to the possible influence he exerted over Koldo in order to secure the allegedly irregular awarding of public works to said company," according to the Anti-Corruption Office in the report requesting an entry and search of his home.

The Public Prosecutor's Office emphasizes that the recordings show that "on several occasions Merino allegedly pointed out projects that were of interest to Acciona , which would have subsequently generated compensation for those under investigation."

The UCO details that the first contact it has on record between Koldo and Merino dates back to 2015. It was an email the executive sent to García with a "series of questions about a specification and a future contract ."

The officers also mention several entries in Koldo's calendar: "Talk to Fernando Acciona about the subsidy and how it's going," "Call Acciona about payment," "Call Fernando Acciona about getting coffee and money." And, they note, "Koldo occasionally refers to Merino as 'Cordobés' or 'Cordo'."

In his case, in addition to authorizing the entry and search of his home , the judge requested that Acciona Construcción "provide backup of Merino's corporate email address ."

And it demanded all the documentation relating to the five public works projects for which Acciona Construcción was awarded the contract - four of them within the framework of a Temporary Business Union (UTE) - for a total amount of 537 million euros : two in Murcia, one in Logroño (La Rioja), one in Seville (Andalusia) and one in Sant Feliú de Llobregat (Catalonia).

Acciona issued a statement expressing its "total ignorance, surprise, and concern" upon learning of the UCO report. It specified that Merino was fired in April 2021. It announced that it would investigate the events and take "legal measures" if criminal conduct was confirmed at companies with which it participated in joint ventures.

Joseba Antxon Alonso Egurrola

His alleged involvement is related to the creation of the companies Noran Coop and Servinabar , "whose known economic activity is closely linked to a series of contracts awarded in Navarra in which Servinabar and Acciona Construcción allegedly bid."

From an analysis of messages and recordings, the UCO deduces that Alonso Egurrola, "using his companies, may have paid compensation to Koldo and Ábalos ." According to the report, Koldo nicknamed him "Guipuchi," "Guipu," or "Gui," "which could be derived from the fact that he was originally from the province of Guipúzcoa."

The UCO also notes that he has "direct ties" to Cerdán . The former ministerial advisor even told his then-partner that Cerdán and Antxón were together in Madrid "going from party to party, spending a fortune." The report includes a message that the former PSOE number three sent in October 2017 in which he asks: "What projects was Gui going to do?"

On the other hand, the agents highlight that " Noran Coop received 360,165 euros directly from Servinabar (between 14/03/2016 and 31/01/2023), sending 177,000 euros to Antxón ." "It is striking that, with Koldo and Antxón holding the same percentage of shares in the cooperative, one of them received 177,000 euros, while Koldo only received 8,738 euros in nine payments," they add.

José Ruz Martínez

The Anti-Corruption Office identifies him as a businessman linked to the construction company LIC. It claims that the recordings reveal that " Koldo allegedly interceded on behalf of José Ruz with Isabel Pardo de Vera (former president of Adif), Javier Herrero (former Director General of Highways), and Ábalos, with the aim of having LIC awarded various public works contracts by these organizations."

He also maintains that Ruz would have participated "in the payment of possible compensation to Koldo himself and Ábalos , using his business environment to do so."

The judge authorized the search of his home, considering that there are indications that " he could have been awarded contracts for works such as those carried out on the A-12 (Camino de Santiago); in the towns of Dos Hermanas and Los Palacios; at the Elche high-speed train station; or for the development of a road in Teruel."

Puente referred to a conversation apparently held between García and Ábalos, recorded in the UCO report, in which the former informed the latter - in November 2023 - that he would no longer be able to continue paying his pension because "Pepe" (apparently referring to Mr. José Ruz) "has stopped paying him the 1,100 euros that he had been collecting" from him.

Ruz also allegedly used " secure" telephone lines to communicate with Koldo , referring to them as "coffee" or "coffee maker" when they deemed it appropriate to use this means.

Daniel and Antonio Fernández

The judge maintains that Daniel Fernández, in his capacity as joint administrator of the OPR (Ministry of Public Works), "in collusion" with Ábalos and Koldo, "could have obtained , in exchange for a price or economic benefit, the award of public works tendered within the framework of said Ministry." Specifically, the UCO refers to contracts in Asturias and Galicia.

His brother, Antonio Fernández , is listed as OPR's representative. The Civil Guard claims that he "may have used his close relationship with Koldo to influence" Adif y Carreteras , "being the contractor awarded the works."

According to the UCO, Construcciones Pérez Jiménez —the company where Antonio was managing director—requested an appointment for him to meet with Pardo de Vera to "plan future projects for bidding." Merino insisted Koldo confirm that the meeting would take place in December 2018.

The Civil Guard also notes that the "contacts" between the Fernández brothers and Koldo "were frequent, with numerous meetings and discussions regarding various projects tendered by the Ministry of Transport."

And he emphasizes that once Koldo left Transport, the brothers " continued to maintain contact with him , among other things, to learn about new positions of responsibility following the various restructurings the Ministry underwent."

The agents recall that the Fernándezes are Merino's brothers-in-law, who allegedly put them in touch with Koldo . They also point out that the former ministerial advisor's then-wife "had obtained a position at the company Anfersa , linked to the OPR, although it is indicatively possible that she did not, in fact, perform any work ."