This is the third time she has been summoned, after not attending the previous two. The Popular Party has called Francisca Muñoz Cano, wife of the former PSOE Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán, this Thursday to appear before the investigation commission of the Koldo case.
Muñoz Cano did not show up the previous two times citing “health problems.” The expectation is that this time she will attend at 16:30 in the Clara Campoamor Room on the third floor, where she will be questioned by the different parliamentary groups of the upper chamber.
That was the case, but with a delay. So much so that it had a somewhat comical point. Muñoz Cano insisted on appearing with two lawyers. The level was such that the commission president, from the PP, activated the microphone to explain the delay. He said that no matter how much the witness “insists,” it will not be so. “Any lawyer would know that.” Minutes later, Muñoz Cano entered the room with only one lawyer and said she was not going to testify.
“I invoke,” said Muñoz Cano after taking a paper from a blue folder, putting on black glasses, and reading, “the legal exemption from giving testimony as my husband is under investigation in a legal process apparently for the same facts as this commission. For the above and given my health condition, I request permission to leave the room.” The president, however, did not allow her to leave the room. The interrogation continues.
According to the Civil Guard, Muñoz Cano is listed as “former working partner of Noran Cooperativa Pequeña and alleged beneficiary of funds and accounts of the company Servinabar 2000,” companies under scrutiny linked to the police operation that gave rise to the Koldo case, named after the main advisor of the former minister and former PSOE organization secretary, José Luis Ábalos, both in preventive detention.
The Civil Guard also found a WhatsApp conversation between businessman Antxon Alonso, who allegedly shares a company with Cerdán, and his wife, Karmele Atutxa. The conversation dates from September 9, 2021. It reveals “some concern,” according to the armed institute, about the “excessive expenses” that Cerdán’s wife would have been incurring. This is the literal transcription. Karmele Atutxa speaks:
—Paqui. All the saleswomen at El Corte Inglés know her.
And she insists: “Spending and spending. And restaurants every weekend, yes and another too. Enough already. All the best of the best. That’s not a plan. And on top of that, they are not discreet at all. You have to grab her between the two of you and talk to her clearly.” Antxon replies: “We agreed to stop it.”
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