An investigation into possible financial irregularities within the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) is ongoing in Madrid. This time, the focus is on the party’s former manager and an employee of the organization’s secretariat, who have been summoned to the Supreme Court to testify about cash payments allegedly received by José Luis Ábalos and his former advisor Koldo García.
The presiding judge decided to hear their testimony after investigators uncovered discrepancies between the party’s official records and the content of private communications discussing the handover of money in envelopes directly at the headquarters on Ferraz Street. These details emerged during a review of documents and messages related to the investigation into possible cash payments.
Those summoned include Celia Rodríguez, a secretariat employee, and Mariano Moreno, the former manager. Their questioning marks the first time PSOE representatives have personally answered questions in court since scrutiny intensified over Ábalos’s financial transactions. Previously, Ábalos and his former advisor declined to testify, exercising their right to remain silent, prompting the judge to call in other individuals involved.
Financial disputes and new documents
During the investigation, it was revealed that not all sums mentioned in the correspondence are reflected in the party’s official documents. In some cases, there are matches between the messages and the reports, but some alleged cash payments are confirmed only in personal conversations, not in the accounting records. This has prompted an additional review of the party’s internal financial flows.
Interestingly, both witnesses had already testified on a similar matter in 2023, when a complaint was filed against a journalist. At that time, they claimed that all payments were transparent, backed by the necessary paperwork, and that settlements were made both through the cash desk and bank transfers.
The party discloses details of cash flows
Although the court rejected the opposition’s request to provide full information on cash transactions over the past nine years, the PSOE independently submitted data to the court on its cash receipts and expenditures from 2017 to 2024. During this period, the party received almost one million euros in cash, and according to party representatives, all funds were transferred from official accounts.
The party insists that these funds were used exclusively to cover expenses of employees and leaders related to business trips and official functions. The documents submitted to the court include a detailed breakdown of the cash payments by month and year.
Reasons for discrepancies and the party’s position
In the explanatory note attached to the submitted materials, PSOE representatives explained that some discrepancies arose due to the specifics of internal accounting. Previously, the court was provided only with individual expenses for Ábalos, Santos Cerdán, and Koldo García, but some payments may have been recorded as departmental expenses rather than attributed to specific individuals. Now this data has also been included in the case files.
The party stresses that there are no unreported or shadow funds and all transactions are reflected in the official accounts. Investigators continue to analyze the submitted documents to determine whether there were any violations in financial activity or if all payments were made in accordance with the rules.
