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OVIEDO, Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday repeatedly asked for forgiveness after one of the most powerful figures in his Socialist Party was implicated in a corruption scandal.

The remarks came after a Spanish police report linked Santos Cerdan, a lawmaker and the party’s organization secretary, to the collection of over €600,000 ($695,000) in illegal commissions during the pandemic.

“I want to ask for forgiveness because until this morning I was convinced of the integrity of Cerdan. There were rumors, but no indications of his involvement in the corruption case,” Sanchez said at an emergency press conference. “Now there are serious, very serious indications.”

Sanchez said he requested Cerdan’s resignation as party organization chief and from his seat in parliament. Cerdan’s resignation was confirmed shortly before the press conference.

The prime minister also announced an external audit of the Socialist Party’s accounts and a restructuring of its organizational body.

Cerdan succeeded Jose Luis Abalos as organization secretary, who was also ousted over links to the same corruption case.

Despite opposition calls for Sanchez to resign and call elections, the Spanish premier said the government would remain in power.

“What I need to do is ask for forgiveness and pledge that the government will continue with its economic and social transformations, offering much-needed stability,” he said.

Sanchez said he was “extremely disappointed” in Cerdan but rejected claims of systemic corruption within the party.

“I have my virtues and my flaws, but I have always worked for clean politics,” he said. “I’m outraged and saddened that a political project so many people believe in can be damaged by the behavior of a few.”

Sanchez rose to power in 2018 after toppling the previous Popular Party government in a no-confidence vote over its corruption scandals.