MADRID (Reuters) -A Spanish Supreme Court’s investigating judge ordered ex-senior ruling Socialist Party official Santos Cerdan to be remanded in custody on Monday in a corruption inquiry that could destabilise Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s fragile minority government.
The court denied bail for Cerdan, but did not immediately release any additional information.
The Cerdan case was the latest and most serious in a series of scandals that have left Sanchez having to apologise and fend off calls from opponents for a snap election.
Judge Leopoldo Puente is investigating allegations against Cerdan, former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos and the latter’s aide Koldo Garcia that they received kickbacks for awarding public works contracts.
Cerdan, who resigned earlier this month from his position as the Socialist Party’s third-ranking official and lawmaker, denies the allegations. Both Abalos and Garcia say they are innocent.
His resignation followed Puente’s statement citing “strong evidence” of Cerdan’s possible involvement in the “improper awarding” of contracts.
Sanchez on Monday defended his Socialist Party’s handling of the corruption allegations against Cerdan, saying that it had acted decisively by asking him to resign.
“Justice must determine the responsibilities that Santos Cerdan may have,” Sanchez told reporters during a summit in Seville.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex Richardson)
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