Former highways director received 25,440 euros from Aquaterra in Koldo case

Judge Ismael Moreno keeps Javier Herrero, former general director of Highways, imputed for a 25,440 euro payment from Aquaterra Servicios Infraestructuras, a firm in a joint venture that won a public contract in 2019. The deposit, flagged as suspicious by the bank, was made in 2025 to a recently opened account.

Investigators in the Koldo case have detected a 25,440 euro payment from Aquaterra Servicios Infraestructuras SL to Francisco Javier Herrero Lizano, former general director of Highways at the Ministry of Transport. The firm was part of a joint venture (UTE) with Acciona that won a 92.4 million euro contract in 2019 for the Arrúbal-Navarrete section of the A-68 highway in La Rioja, under Herrero's direction when José Luis Ábalos led the ministry. A message from Herrero to Koldo García states: «Bingo!!! En Logroño» after the award. Judge Ismael Moreno of the Audiencia Nacional, in a March 17, 2026 resolution, keeps Herrero imputed and orders bank data from Aquaterra and other firms like Ferrovial Construcción, Tecade, and Freyssinet. The payment was made in 2025 for «abono de la factura fra 1001/25», with a generic invoice dated one month before the home search. Herrero then transferred 12,500 euros to another account with self-employed receipts. Bank CBNK notified Sepblac on February 23, 2026, of a suspicious operation. Herrero's computer held an Aquaterra domain email with no known contractual link. Acciona's internal audit to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office rules out systematic irregularities and states that «no public money has been compromised», though it notes cases where billed services lack proof, such as with Servinabar, linked to Joseba Antxon Alonso.

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