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Pardo de Vera feared that Koldo's rigged works would be detected: "He's going to sing."

Pardo de Vera feared that Koldo's rigged works would be detected: "He's going to sing."

The report from the Operational Unit (UCO) that led to the search of Isabel Pardo de Vera's home last week identifies the former president of Adif as the person Koldo García allegedly turned to "repeatedly" to intervene in contract awards in favor of the construction companies Acciona and LIC (Levantina Engineering and Construction) during José Luis Ábalos's tenure as head of the Ministry of Transport. On one of those occasions, the minister's former driver asked Pardo de Vera to award an emergency project to LIC, to which the former president pointed out that the company had recently been awarded an emergency tender, and therefore awarding it another one so quickly would be a "winner." Despite fears that the alleged rigging would be discovered, just one month later Adif directly proposed LIC as the contractor for an emergency project worth €592,053.

Pardo de Vera's judicial journey is complicated. With this report in hand, National Court Judge Ismael Moreno gave the Civil Guard the green light to search her home, issuing a warrant charging her with five crimes: embezzlement of public funds, bribery, influence peddling, malfeasance, and membership in a criminal organization. The former president of Adif is also under investigation for the alleged irregular hiring of Ábalos's ex-girlfriend, Jéssica Rodríguez. She will face Moreno on July 21st, who has summoned her as a suspect for her alleged involvement in improper contract awards.

In the 15-page report, to which La Vanguardia has had access, the UCO (Central University of Catalonia) compiles multiple clues against Pardo de Vera—as well as against Javier Herrero, former Director General of Highways. The former director of Adif exchanged information about projects that are now under suspicion. On January 28, 2019, Ábalos's former advisor sent her an image with the results of the bids submitted for a tender for works linked to the construction of the high-speed line to Extremadura. In this image, the line corresponding to the result of the CTNES Pérez Jiménez SL and OPR joint venture was highlighted in fluorescent yellow, and the Acciona bid was highlighted in a lighter shade. Two hours later, García expressed his discontent with the company that had obtained the highest score: "That bothers us a bit." Pardo de Vera asked about the highlighter of the joint venture in which OPR participates, and García replied that it was "a cover-up."

Regarding a construction project for the integration of the railway in Sant Feliú de Llobregat—valued at €71.5 million—Pardo de Vera wrote to Ábalos's former advisor on May 30, 2019, to inform him of the results of the economic bids for "Sant Feliu." That same day, according to the UCO, the evaluable envelopes were opened, with Acciona coming in ninth lowest. Regarding the technical score, Acciona obtained the highest score, winning the contract.

According to the UCO, these "specific interventions" made by Pardo de Vera "to favor certain construction companies" must be understood alongside excerpts from a conversation between Ábalos and García, from which the "notorious discretion" in awarding public works contracts can be deduced. "It has been observed how García claimed to have given instructions to Pardo de Vera to award certain contracts or how García even admitted that he would give the directive to Pardo de Vera, Javier Herrero, or Víctor de Aldama."

Judge Ismael Moreno, who for now supports the Civil Guard's position, highlights in his ruling the "interest" of former PSOE organization secretary Santos Cerdán—remanded in custody by order of the Supreme Court—in promoting Pardo de Vera, although this did not happen until Ábalos was ousted by Pedro Sánchez during the 2021 government crisis. With him, García also left the Ministry.

Along the same lines, the report highlights Cerdán and García's "interest" in placing Herrero in important positions. The UCO also points out that Koldo allegedly "repeatedly" used Herrero to favor Acciona, LIC, and OPR (Public Works and Irrigation). Specifically, a project on the Quinto Centenario Bridge in Seville (€71.4 million), a project on the A-63 highway in Asturias, and road maintenance operations in Teruel.

During the search of Pardo de Vera's home, officers found an Adif document for the supply of five million masks during the pandemic. The UCO copied the contents of Pardo de Vera's email account and Dropbox folder, as well as her WhatsApp chat with her husband, who was present during the search. At Herrero's home, the Civil Guard found €4,750 in cash.

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