EH Bildu leader Arnaldo Otegi acknowledged on Thursday that businessman Antxon Alonso, who is under investigation in the ‘Koldo’ corruption case, acted as an intermediary to arrange a meeting with then-PSN official Santos Cerdán. Otegi said the encounter, held several years ago, established a discreet line of communication between the pro-independence coalition and the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). Otegi stressed he had met Alonso “no more than four times” and denied any close relationship, but confirmed that Cerdán subsequently became one of Bildu’s principal political interlocutors. The meeting took place after a mutual acquaintance told Otegi that the Socialist politician wished to discuss Navarre, which both parties view as strategically important. Cerdán, who resigned as PSOE Organisation Secretary on 12 June and has since been jailed, told the Supreme Court on Monday that his business partner Alonso “opened the doors” to both EH Bildu and the Basque Nationalist Party. Court documents show Cerdán held 45 % of Alonso’s construction company Servinabar, which investigators link to allegedly rigged public-works tenders. Alonso is due to testify before the high court next week as the probe widens.