Pallade Veneta - Top Spanish ruling party official resigns over corruption case

The case adds to mounting legal and political pressure on Pedro Sanchez, one of Europe's longest serving Socialist leaders whose inner circle faces several ongoing investigations.

Santos Cerdan, the party's organisation secretary and its third-ranking figure, is suspected of being an accomplice in the alleged improper awarding of a public contract during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a newly published judicial report.

"To defend the Socialist Party, to which this country owes so much, and to defend this government, I have decided to resign from all my positions," he said in a statement, adding he "never committed any illegal act".

A judge said a police report "reveals the existence of consistent evidence" suggesting Cerdan acted in collusion with former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos and his former adviser, Koldo Garcia Izaguirre, in exchange for financial gain.

Cerdan has been invited to testify voluntarily before the Supreme Court on June 25.

Due to his parliamentary immunity, he cannot be formally charged unless the court proceeds with further steps.

"I am absolutely not afraid. I am completely certain that I will not be accused of corruption," he said earlier on Thursday as he arrived in parliament before stepping down.

Lawmakers from the main opposition Popular Party (PP) greeted Cerdan in parliament with chants of "resignation".

"If anyone had doubts that there was a mafia-like network behind the ruling party and the government, I suppose those doubts have now been dispelled," PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo told reporters.

"This is unacceptable in a European Union country. A European prime minister wouldn't last 10 minutes after the revelations we've seen in recent weeks," he added.

- 'Smear campaign' -

Tens of thousands of people took part in a protest against Sanchez's government on Sunday in Madrid which was called by the PP.

Abalos, who served as transport minister from 2018 to 2021 and was once a key figure in Sanchez's administration, is accused of receiving illegal commissions through business contracts.

He faces charges of corruption, influence peddling and embezzlement.

Abalos was dismissed from Sanchez's cabinet in 2021 and expelled from the Socialist Party earlier this year, but remains a member of parliament as an independent.

His parliamentary immunity was lifted in January. During a court hearing in December, he denied receiving any kickbacks and maintained there were no irregularities.

Sanchez's wife, Begona Gomez, and his brother, David Sanchez, are also the target of separate investigations for graft.

And Spain's top prosecutor, Alvaro Garcia Ortiz who was appointed by Sanchez's government, is facing a possible trial over suspicions he leaked secret case files concerning the partner of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the powerful conservative leader of the Madrid region.

The Spanish prime minister has dismissed the probes against members of his inner circle as part of a "smear campaign" carried out by the right wing to undermine his government.

Sanchez came to power in June 2018 after ousting his PP predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in a no-confidence vote over corruption scandals affecting involving the conservative party.

Most recent polls show the PP holding a slim lead over the Socialists.

Y.Destro--PV