Spain’s National Court has formally charged Mercedes González, director general of the Guardia Civil, and its deputy operational director, Manuel Llamas, in an investigation into alleged interference with anti-corruption probes. Judicial sources confirmed the decision to EL PAÍS. It followed a request from Anticorruption prosecutors. The proceedings, overseen by investigating judge Santiago Pedraz, are identified in court reporting as preliminary case 150/2025.
The inquiry into the so-called ‘caso Leire’ examines alleged efforts to obstruct judicial proceedings and weaken corruption investigations, including cases considered politically damaging to the Socialist Party and Pedro Sánchez’s government. Investigators are examining claims that senior officials sought to undermine the Unidad Central Operativa (UCO), the Guardia Civil unit handling sensitive corruption cases. These include investigations linked to the prime minister’s brother and the ‘caso Koldo’. The alleged actions may have included administrative measures targeting investigators. The reported list of people under investigation also includes former Correos president Juan Manuel Serrano, lawyers Jacobo Teijelo and Ismael Oliver, and Santos Cerdán.
The investigation has widened beyond meetings and alleged coordination. It now examines whether professional legal or consultancy contracts were used to channel payments connected to Leire Díez, a former Socialist Party member. Judge Pedraz has sought the party’s records of lawyers and law firms, as well as consultancies hired by basic and territorial party bodies from 2021 through 2025. The request covers contracts, procurement documents and payment justifications. Infobae reported that the judge gave the PSOE 15 days to produce the material and directed it to do so “without further delay.”
The court also rejected the PSOE’s arguments for postponing production of the records. Information from EL PAÍS, Pedraz said consultation with the Spanish General Council of Lawyers did not suspend the judicial requirement. He criticized steps outside the proceedings that would delay compliance. The 15-day deadline remained in force.
González has acknowledged meeting Leire Díez on at least two occasions. During a Senate appearance on June 16, she described the first meeting as a professional approach initiated by Díez. The second, she said, was a request to reinstate Commander Rubén Villalba, who had been suspended and charged in the ‘caso Koldo’. González said she refused to intervene in Villalba’s case and denied involvement in any plot against the UCO. Separate reporting says she later appeared before Pedraz as a person under investigation. Llamas has defended his innocence before a Senate commission.
UCO reports allege that Díez prompted González to consider administrative measures against agents involved in sensitive corruption investigations. Díez has disputed the UCO’s account, describing its report as containing “a lot of false claims.” She said a Policía Nacional report contradicted it, according to Faro de Vigo. She has also addressed questions about her meetings with González and said she did not know Llamas. The allegations remain under judicial investigation. The proceedings have not established the guilt of those named.
The ‘caso Leire’ is the latest in a series of judicial actions concerning alleged interference in major corruption probes. The ongoing ‘caso Koldo’ has already brought impressive legal and political fallout, including the suspension of basic officials. In a related development, the Supreme Court’s recent decision to suspend Víctor de Aldama’s sentence after his cooperation in the ‘caso Koldo’ has sparked debate over prosecutorial strategy and leniency, as detailed in this report on the Supreme Court’s handling of the Aldama case.
Spain’s anti-corruption structure relies heavily on the independence of units such as the UCO to investigate complex financial crimes and political scandals. The case has renewed scrutiny of the relationship between institutional decision-making and active investigations. Pedraz’s inquiry remains ongoing, with the court pursuing records on party contracting and alleged financial links surrounding Díez and other people under investigation.
