The investigation into the Leire Díez case is following the money behind the alleged scheme. The Guardia Civil’s Unidad Central Operativa (UCO), working under the authority of the Audiencia Nacional and alongside Anticorruption prosecutors Elisa Lamelas and Mar Scharfhausen, is examining bank accounts and transactions to identify the source and destination of funds. Investigators are probing allegations that a network sought to influence judicial proceedings involving the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and the government of Pedro Sánchez.
A report submitted to investigating judge Santiago Pedraz on July 21 described an alleged system in which individuals and companies acted as intermediaries to disguise payments. The inquiry reviewed 81 bank accounts, most linked to former Andalusian regional vice president Gaspar Zarrías and lawyers Ismael Oliver and Jacobo Teijelo. Six PSOE accounts were also under scrutiny. The UCO’s financial analysis aims to establish who ultimately financed the activities attributed to Díez and whether the transactions paid for genuine professional services.
Investigators attribute at least €43,225 in payments to Díez, allegedly routed through companies linked to Zarrías and Oliver rather than transferred directly by the PSOE. One transaction under examination involved €27,225 paid by the party to Estudio Jurídico I. Oliver & Partners, followed by an equivalent payment from Oliver Gruppe to Díez. Judge Pedraz reportedly described the alleged purpose as breaking “the traceability of the funds.” The allegations remain part of ongoing proceedings and do not amount to findings of guilt.
A separate invoice trail described in Spanish reporting includes an invoice dated January 24, 2025, for €22,500 plus VAT from Oliver & Partners. Oliver Gruppe then invoiced Díez for “preparation of reports.” UCO investigators are examining whether these legal and consultancy invoices recorded genuine work or served as cover for payments. Reports have also placed PSOE manager Ana María Fuentes at the center of two engagement letters allegedly prepared with Díez’s involvement, following directions attributed to former party organizational secretary Santos Cerdán.
The court’s document demands have broadened the inquiry beyond individual transactions. On October 6, 2026, Judge Pedraz requested a complete list of lawyers and consultancy firms engaged by any basic or territorial PSOE body between 2021 and 2025, along with contracts and records showing that the work was performed. After the party failed to fully answer an earlier request, the judge set a further 48-hour deadline. The request followed testimony from Fuentes, whose role in arranging professional engagements and issuing invoices is under investigation.
The PSOE has invoked professional secrecy while resisting or delaying the delivery of some requested material. The party’s stated position was that “professional secrecy is sacred.” The court wants the records to establish who commissioned the work, which firms were paid and whether the invoices matched services actually provided. The investigation examines the party through transactions and individual conduct; the reported proceedings do not establish that the PSOE has been formally charged as a legal entity.
Earlier in the investigation, Judge Pedraz expanded the inquiry on May 27 to include Díez and Cerdán, as well as Zarrías, businessman Javier Pérez Dolset and lawyers Oliver and Teijelo. The court cited indications of an alleged scheme to shield participants from judicial cases affecting the government and the PSOE. The case file described two strands: seeking compromising information about officials involved in sensitive investigations, and attempting to prompt internal investigations within the Guardia Civil to create pressure on those involved.
The July 21 report identified Cerdán, a former PSOE secretary of Organization, as a basic figure. It alleged that in April 2024 he tasked Díez with coordinating efforts to disrupt police or judicial proceedings that could affect the party or government. Prosecutors say Cerdán provided logistical and financial support. The PSOE’s current leadership has distanced itself from the case and attributed potential responsibility to him, while investigators continue to trace financial flows and examine the roles of other people and companies.
The alleged payment structure also includes four monthly payments of €4,000 to Díez through a company owned by Zarrías. Prosecutors further allege that Teijelo issued and received three invoices from the PSOE totaling €125,000 for services he did not provide, with some of the money possibly intended for Díez. Their theory is that Teijelo became a conduit for payments after Zarrías withdrew from the arrangement when it became public. These claims remain under investigation.
People close to Díez have denied that she received PSOE funds through intermediaries. In testimony in June, Teijelo denied wrongdoing and said he had been hired to assess the viability of legal cases for the party. The PSOE has also denied contracting him or receiving professional services from him. In July 2025, the party formally refused to pay two additional invoices worth €53,000, citing a lack of evidence that the billed services had been performed.
Anticorruption authorities are also examining allegations that the network sought to covertly finance the legal defenses of former minister José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García. Prosecutors have cited messages suggesting payments might be routed through other professionals, possibly including Teijelo. Documents cited in the investigation reportedly record discussion of an offer of up to €300,000 to bribe a prosecutor, alongside an alleged proposal of €250,000 to businesswoman Carmen Pano to change her testimony in the Koldo case. Pano has claimed that she delivered bags of cash to PSOE headquarters.
The case forms part of broader scrutiny of political party finances and high-profile corruption investigations in Spain. Further developments will depend on the PSOE’s response to the court’s document request, Fuentes’s testimony and the UCO’s financial analysis. The inquiry is also unfolding alongside other law-enforcement efforts targeting organized criminal networks, including the recent crackdown on human trafficking networks.
