Leire Díez, a former PSOE member and central figure in a high-profile judicial controversy, has appealed to keep two separate investigations against her from being merged into a single case. In appeals submitted to Judge Arturo Zamarriego in Madrid and National Court magistrate Santiago Pedraz, she argues that the cases lack the necessary connection for consolidation. Díez also accuses the Guardia Civil’s Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) and Judge Pedraz of probing alleged acts already under investigation in a separate, confidential proceeding.
The dispute escalated after Judge Pedraz agreed last week to take over the case previously handled by Zamarriego. That case focused on Díez’s alleged attempts to interfere with judicial inquiries involving the PSOE and government officials. Zamarriego had relinquished the case, citing what he described as an “indissoluble” link between the two investigations and the need for unified proceedings. Madrid court staff then delivered 14 volumes, nearly 4,000 pages, of case files to the National Court for review.
The consolidation dispute is unfolding alongside a broader National Court investigation into alleged efforts to undermine proceedings affecting the PSOE and the government, including people close to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The investigative theory reported by Europa Press attributes leadership of the alleged operation to former PSOE official Santos Cerdán, with Díez described as its coordinator. These are allegations under examination, not findings of guilt.
That inquiry has widened from alleged approaches to judges and investigators to possible financial channels involving lawyers and consultants, as well as companies connected to PSOE-related figures. Information from Onda Cero’s account of information attributed to the UCO, investigators identified a total of 43,225 euros allegedly paid to Díez through companies that also invoiced the PSOE. The same account described four payments of 4,000 euros from the party to a consultancy linked to former Andalusian deputy president Gaspar Zarrías, followed by four transfers of the same amount from the consultancy to Díez on nearby dates. Investigators are examining what services were contracted and whether the transactions were connected to efforts to obtain compromising information about judicial figures and Guardia Civil investigators. The figures remain allegations, not a judicial finding of wrongdoing.
Pedraz has also required the PSOE to provide a complete list of legal and consultancy firms hired by basic or territorial party bodies between 2021 and 2025. The request followed an earlier demand made in early October. A later account reported that the judge rejected the party’s argument that a consultation with the Consejo General de la Abogacía Española, concerning professional secrecy and privacy, suspended compliance with the court order. The investigation has also examined whether lawyers Jacobo Teijelo and Ismael Oliver were used as possible channels for transferring party funds to Díez. Investigative material further alleges that PSOE manager Ana María Fuentes was involved in falsifying two professional-engagement notes. That allegation, too, remains subject to judicial examination.
Díez’s legal team maintains that the rationale for merging the cases is unfounded, directly challenging both judges’ positions. She has also rejected the UCO’s account. In comments reported by Diario de León, she called the proceedings “a farce that has exceeded all powers of imagination” and said the UCO report contained “a lot of false claims,” which she asserted were contradicted by a report prepared by the Policía Nacional. Her objections concern whether the proceedings should be joined and how the police reports should be interpreted and assessed.
The legal battle follows the Madrid court’s recent decision to transfer the Díez case to the Audiencia Nacional, detailed in a previous report on the case handover. The outcome of Díez’s appeals could determine whether the investigations proceed separately or under a single magistrate, affecting how overlapping allegations about finances and political interference are handled.
The case remains in the instruction phase, in which the judge examines evidence before deciding whether to open an oral trial. No trial date has been set in the reported proceedings. In Spain, investigations may be joined when the facts and defendants are sufficiently connected, with the aim of coordinating proceedings and avoiding conflicting rulings. The UCO is a specialized investigative unit of the Guardia Civil, while the Audiencia Nacional hears cases within its statutory jurisdiction, including certain complex cases with a national dimension. Pedraz’s ongoing documentary orders show that the inquiry continues to examine records spanning several years as the courts consider how to coordinate the overlapping allegations.
