The former manager of the PSOE Mariano Moreno declared this Wednesday before the Supreme Court that "never" were 500, 200, or 100 euro bills used to reimburse expenses advanced to the former Minister of Transport and former Secretary of Organization of the party, José Luis Ábalos, nor to his then advisor Koldo García.
During his appearance as a witness in the trial against Ábalos, Koldo, and the businessman Víctor de Aldama, he stressed that "the PSOE's cash box, the only cash box it has, was funded by income from its operating account, which was always the same." As he explained, they followed a general treasury protocol whereby he, as manager, requested cash from the banking entity and it sent the money through a private security company.
Moreno has insisted that "we never asked for 500 euro bills, nor 200 euro bills, nor 100 euro bills, never. Therefore, those bills that may have been given by the PSOE do not exist." He added that "spending control was done the same way whether it was by transfer or in cash" and that "99.4%" of payments were made by bank transfer, with the rest in cash.
Liquidations and control of Ábalos' expenses
The former manager defended that the settlements of "Mr. Ábalos and everyone else" were processed correctly: "Absolutely all of them went with their supporting documents and receipts for the expenses that were being compensated." He specified that "and those settlements and those payment supporting documents, to this day, and almost 10 years have passed, the PSOE has delivered them to Judge Ismael Moreno," within the framework of the National High Court's investigation into cash payments made by the party between 2017 and 2024 as part of a piece of the 'Koldo case'.
In his testimony he has confirmed that Ábalos authorized his own expenses and those of the team of the Secretariat of Organization, "just like" other party secretaries. When questioned by the popular prosecution, led by the PP, about whether he ever considered any settlement from the Secretariat of Organization disproportionate or unjustified, he recalled an amount of "700 and some euros" corresponding to a meal.
"I think it was the biggest I had seen in terms of amounts, I had never seen one like it. So I asked and I was told that the Organization team had participated in a meal, I think it was the Galician electoral pre-campaign, I think in the year 2020. And, therefore, it was perfectly understood that for fourteen diners, it was reasonable, there was the reason for it," he pointed out.
Limit of 1,000 euros in cash and official cash register
Moreno has explained that the PSOE's "spending policy" "has been recently modified to eliminate cash payments as much as possible" and recalled that in 2020, already as manager and in the midst of the pandemic, an instruction was approved that set that "any cash payment" had "a limit of 1,000 euros". He detailed that the party "only compensated previously anticipated expenses" for reasons of travel, representation, or activity, mainly meals and dinners, accommodation, and transport.
According to his account, there was an internal procedure: "There was a procedure: whoever authorized the expense was always the heads of the departments or secretaries where that advance expense was incurred; you had to summarize the main concepts on the sheet called settlement; receipts had to be attached, and there was also an authorization from the administration or from management, depending on the amount of the settlement, which gave the final 'ok' for cash payment, whether by transfer or in cash". Furthermore, he indicated that the administration and finance department reviewed all the tickets "that were in line with the political activities that were being said to have been paid".
The former manager has also pointed out that the funds from the fund "came almost 100% from the allocations made by the PSOE", except for "some minor or atypical income" such as the sale of merchandising. When questioned by Koldo's defense, he confirmed that the money managed by Ábalos' former advisor came from the party's official fund and was subject to the regulated system. However, lawyer Leticia de la Hoz has exhibited expense settlement sheets without a concept or date, although signed.
Testimony of Ábalos's secretary
Celia Rodríguez, former secretary to Ábalos in the PSOE's Organization Secretariat at Ferraz headquarters, has also appeared as a witness. She stated that expenses were paid there, "almost all" in cash, but emphasized that "without the receipts" she could not reimburse the money. She explained that Koldo "normally" gave her those justifications "in an envelope with what Ábalos's expenses were and what the Organization Secretariat's expenses were."
"And what I did was add them up and put them on a sheet we have in the party called expense settlement. Once I signed them, I took them down to administration so they would refund me the amount," Rodríguez has stated. He added that "if" the former minister or his former advisor were at Ferraz, "I would give it to them," although on occasion Koldo sent people he trusted, such as his ex-partner Patricia Uriz, to collect the cash.
Lastly, the witness answered with a "no" when Koldo's defense asked her if he "ever asked you to include a settlement of his personal expenses not related to the party".