The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has submitted an additional set of documents to the Supreme Court to address questions regarding cash expenditures involving former minister José Luis Ábalos and his associates. In this new submission, the party has provided a detailed breakdown of all payments made from the secretariat’s accounts, specifying sums by month and year.
In the accompanying letter, party representatives explained that the data previously provided only covered individual payments to three people—Ábalos, Santos Cerdán, and Koldo García. However, it turned out that some expenses were recorded not for specific individuals, but for entire teams, and these amounts were entered into the accounting records as group expenditures. It was precisely these collective payments that raised questions in the investigation, since they were not included in the initial reports.
Earlier, the judge leading the investigation into possible contract fraud in the Ministry of Transport had rejected the opposition’s demand to disclose all of the party’s cash transactions over the past eight years. However, after discrepancies were found in the reports related to cash payments, PSOE decided to proactively provide additional information before the former financial director and a secretariat employee are questioned.
How the payments were made and why discrepancies emerged
The documents explain that expenses for events, travel, meals, and purchases for organizational needs were often covered from a special cash fund on Ferraz Street (Ferraz). Money was withdrawn from a bank account upon official request, delivered by couriers, and then distributed among staff and volunteers. Some expenses were registered for the entire team rather than for individuals, which explains the discrepancy between actual payouts and individual reports.
Particular attention is given to the episode involving an envelope that, according to investigators, contained €500 more than was reported in the documents. The party claims that the envelope included not only funds for Ábalos but also money for his team’s needs, which explains the difference.
Expense trends and new rules
The provided data reflect amounts paid in cash over the past nine years. During Ábalos’s time heading the organization department, team payouts ranged from €7,000 to €55,000 per year and dropped sharply after 2021. The party attributes this to the switch to individual reporting and the rise of cashless payments after the pandemic.
The new documents also describe the process for receiving and distributing cash: from requesting it from the bank to entering the data in official accounting. The PSOE emphasizes that all transactions are recorded in a unified accounting system, which is audited and overseen by the Court of Auditors.
The party’s position and next steps
The party insists that none of the payments were made through unofficial schemes or a ‘shadow fund.’ According to them, all funds came from the official BBVA account and were used exclusively for the needs of the federal executive committee. As evidence, PSOE submitted to the court copies of bank requests, account statements, and a list of all cash inflows over recent years.
The court will now review the new materials and decide whether further checks are necessary. In the near future, former employees are expected to be questioned, which could shed light on the details of the party’s cash flow.
