Santos Cerdán Challenges Supreme Court Order Jailing Him in ‘Koldo’ Probe

Spain’s Supreme Court ordered former PSOE organisational chief Santos Cerdán into provisional custody on 30 June, sending him to Soto del Real prison without bail while it investigates his alleged role in the so-called Koldo corruption ring. Magistrate Leopoldo Puente says there are "notabilísimos indicios" that Cerdán formed part of a criminal organisation that steered public-works contracts in exchange for illicit commissions. Puente agreed with Anticorruption prosecutors that the socialist politician could obstruct the investigation by hiding or destroying evidence and described a potential illicit "botín" that may exceed €5 million. The inquiry centres on suspected payments channelled through former transport minister José Luis Ábalos’s adviser Koldo García and intermediary Víctor de Aldama. On 3 July Cerdán’s new defence lawyer, former Catalan MP Benet Salellas, filed an appeal asking the Supreme Court to free his client "immediately" for lack of sufficient evidence and for breaching the presumption of innocence. The brief accuses the judge of mounting a “general cause” against Cerdán and notes that other main suspects remain at liberty. Since entering Soto del Real, Cerdán has met with attorneys including Jacobo Teijelo and Marta Castro Varela as his legal team prepares its challenge to the detention order. The Supreme Court has not set a timetable for ruling on the appeal.