The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has carried out searches in Acciona's headquarters in Madrid, Bilbao and Seville within a secret section under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The objective is to gather evidence regarding the alleged payment of commissions in exchange for the awarding of public works contracts in different parts of the country.
According to sources familiar with the proceedings, The agents have requested documentation and computer files. at the company's offices and related entities, although no arrests are currently planned. They have also visited cooperatives and related companies in San Sebastián, and in Seville, they have requested information about the Centenario Bridge project from firms that participated in a joint venture with Acciona, such as Tecade and Freyssinet.
What is being investigated in this phase of the case
The Supreme Court judge leading this line of investigation focuses on the awarding of contracts to joint ventures in which Acciona holds a stake along with smaller companies. Previous rulings emphasize that, in several cases under analysis, the winning bid was not the best in economic terms and was allegedly favored by subjective assessment criteria.
Among the files under scrutiny are works in Logroño (Southern Ring Road, Arrúbal-Navarrete section)Seville (replacement of the cables of the Centenary Bridge), Sant Feliu de Llobregat and various performances in Murcia, in addition to references to Belate tunnelThe investigation involves actions in different provinces to identify a common pattern in the awarding of contracts.
The researchers handle recordings and communications These recordings allude to actions taken by Koldo García and mention Santos Cerdán, with references to Acciona executives, as well as to pressure or intervention regarding public tenders. These audio recordings are being analyzed in parallel with the administrative files and procurement reports.
According to known documents from the proceedings, it is indicated that the contracts under review would exceed 500 millones de euros and it is suggested, as a hypothesis to be tested, that the alleged commissions for certain individuals under investigation could be around around one million eurosThe Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has spoken of "solid evidence" regarding the actions of former executives.
Prior to Friday's searches, the Supreme Court had already issued a request to the company to obtain all physical and digital documentation of five awarded contracts (three from Adif and two from the Directorate General of Highways) and the corporate emails of a former official. The judge considered at the time that a comprehensive search could be too intrusive, although the progress of the case has now led to the authorized searches.
Companies and executives in the spotlight
In addition to the construction company's offices, the UCO has inspected the cooperatives in San Sebastián Noran and Erkolan, linked to the business structure under investigation Servinabar 2000, a company owned by businessman Antxon Alonso that participated in a joint venture with Acciona in several public tenders.
The reports incorporated into the procedure reflect payments between Servinabar and these cooperatives and connections with Santos Cerdán's circle. The hypothesis to be tested is whether this corporate network could have acted as leverage to to influence awardsThis is a point that the defense rejects and that will have to be addressed in court.
On the corporate front, Acciona announced last June the severing any ties with Servinabar and dismissed its head of Construction in Spain, Justo Vicente. Meanwhile, the former delegate in Navarre and La Rioja, Fernando Merino, figure investigated in the Supreme Court in relation to alleged payment channels, within an investigation still ongoing.
One of the featured pieces focuses on the Centennial Bridge, awarded in 2021 to a joint venture formed by Acciona, Tecade and Freyssinet for an amount exceeding 86 millones de eurosThe Civil Guard is analyzing whether there were communications or interference aimed at "closing" that award, in light of intercepted conversations.
In other provinces, such as Navarre and the Basque Country, managers have indicated that it was common to compete through Joint ventures with local companies in order to be eligible for public works, a framework that is now being reviewed to determine if there were any leaks, influence peddling or commissions, and to what extent they could influence the technical scoring of the bids.
The proceedings will continue in the coming days with further actions, while the investigation remains ongoing. under seal of summaryThe case places Acciona at the epicenter of an investigation that connects large public contracts with an alleged political-business intermediation network whose definitive scope is yet to be determined.
