The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has formally reported a leak of confidential information from a judicial investigation into its cash expenses between 2017 and 2024. The complaint, filed with the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, concerns the publication of material from proceedings under court-ordered secrecy at the Audiencia Nacional. The inquiry is one strand of broader corruption investigations involving figures including José Luis Ábalos, Santos Cerdán and Koldo García.
PSOE's legal team argues that the disclosure may constitute an offense under Articles 415 and 417 of the Spanish Penal Code, which it says apply to the unlawful disclosure of secrets by public officials. The party acted after The Objective published a report on June 11, headlined “La UCO detecta 52 facturas falsas del PSOE en la causa de la financiación irregular.” The report included a screenshot of an Excel document labeled “Facturas de gastos de la trama que han sido pagadas por el PSOE,” presented as material from the investigation. The headline's description of 52 invoices as false is an allegation, not a judicial finding.
The accounting inquiry examines PSOE cash payments and supporting documents for the period from 2017 through 2024. Investigators are comparing records supplied by the party with information held by the Tribunal de Cuentas. Reports on the review have described missing expense invoices and documents with descriptions considered difficult to interpret. The Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit (UCO) is examining whether discrepancies reflect accounting problems or potentially irregular financing. The inquiry has not established that the PSOE committed illegal financing.
Information from PSOE, Central Court of Instruction No. 2 is handling the judicial procedure. The case was declared secret in December, initially for one month, and the secrecy order was later extended. The party says the order limits access to the documents to the parties in the proceedings, apart from the public prosecutor. It maintains that this restricted access means the disclosure could only have come from an official with direct access to the confidential file.
PSOE argues that these circumstances differ from leaks in proceedings where all parties can inspect the case file. The Objective attributed its information to “sources from the investigation.” The party says that account, together with the secrecy restrictions, points to a possible breach of official secrecy by a public servant. That is the party's allegation, not a determination of who disclosed the material or whether a crime was committed.
In December, Judge Ismael Moreno, who is overseeing the matter at the Audiencia Nacional, separated the inquiry into PSOE's cash payments from the broader “Koldo case” after the party submitted a USB lead containing financial records for the period under review. Moreno referred the matter to the anti-corruption prosecutor, citing the seriousness of the allegations and the need to protect sensitive personal data. The records reportedly included expense-reimbursement details linking payments to individual recipients.
The investigation followed a request from Supreme Court Judge Leopoldo Puente, who was examining the activities of Ábalos and his adviser. After reviewing a Civil Guard report on Ábalos's assets and financial documents provided by the PSOE, Puente referred the matter to the Audiencia Nacional to clarify whether irregular or potentially criminal conduct had occurred. One line of inquiry concerns whether cash payments were connected to alleged illicit conduct involving Ábalos and Koldo García. The anti-corruption prosecutor has said the party itself is not under investigation and that the possible offense under examination may have been committed against the PSOE.
The accounting questions are also part of a broader investigative theory concerning alleged commissions linked to public contracts and whether those funds may have been disguised as political donations. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been established as facts. The UCO's review of the party's records and supporting documents forms part of that wider inquiry. The reported leak concerns confidential material from active judicial proceedings.
Articles 415 and 417 of Spain's Penal Code address the disclosure of secrets by public officials and others bound by duties of confidentiality. The PSOE has cited those provisions in its complaint, but the filing itself does not determine criminal liability. The Audiencia Nacional handles serious cases, including major corruption and organized crime. The proceedings remain secret because of the sensitive evidence and restrictions on access to the case file. Any legal or political consequences will depend on subsequent prosecutorial and judicial decisions.
