Investigators found that PSOE used its campaign agency to pay for audios about Pedro Sánchez’s father-in-law. The deal involved a little-known media outlet and raised questions inside the agency about the money involved.
When the Guardia Civil’s Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) followed the money behind the audios about Pedro Sánchez’s father-in-law, they found PSOE had sent the payments through its campaign agency, IKI Group. Agency executives have now confirmed this. The move put a little-known media outlet at the center of a tense political operation.
Testimony gathered by UCO and sent to the Audiencia Nacional shows that IKI Group’s director of accounts, Mónica Hurtado de Mendoza, said her agency was hired by PSOE for the 2024 European Parliament elections and other big party events. But the party told her to pay Crónica Libre—a small outlet run by journalist Patricia López. The amount: 18,000 euros, for audios from ex-commissioner Villarejo about the saunas of Sánchez’s father-in-law.
In some reports, the payment amount is specified as €18,125.80 (comprising €14,980 plus VAT), indicating the transaction was processed as a campaign advertising invoice rather than a one-off payout.
Hurtado de Mendoza said she got direct orders from PSOE headquarters to make the payment to Crónica Libre. She also wrote an internal email raising doubts about the high budgets going to several small outlets, including Crónica Libre, which she called a group with “little capacity” to handle such sums. Even with these concerns, the party pushed ahead, wanting to boost Crónica Libre’s role in the European campaign.
More evidence came from IKI Group’s negotiation chief, Fernando Payero. He told investigators he would never have picked Crónica Libre for the campaign, calling it “low entity” with little impact. He said PSOE set the terms and budget—at first up to 20,000 euros—which was far more than the outlet could handle. In the end, the amount was cut because Crónica Libre could not deliver more advertising.
Internal emails show PSOE even thought about raising the payment by another 5,000 euros after a request from party communications head Meritxell Blasco. IKI Group warned that Crónica Libre had already used up all its ad formats. Any more spending would mean taking money from other regional outlets. The extra payment was dropped.
According to several Spanish media outlets referencing UCO materials, the European Public Prosecutor's Office is also reviewing whether any EU funds were involved in this payment scheme. While this is currently only a line of inquiry and not an established fact in court, it highlights the potential for broader financial scrutiny beyond national oversight.
IKI Group staff, including Mario García, said they had trouble getting basic campaign data from Crónica Libre. After the campaign, García reported that the outlet’s founder only gave a verbal number—107,000 impressions—with no report or audited figures. The agency sent emails asking for the missing data, but got no reply.
The pattern is clear. Party leaders were willing to ignore normal media planning to send money to a favored outlet, no matter its reach or transparency. The testimony and documents collected by UCO suggest the payments to Crónica Libre were less about real campaigning and more about rewarding loyalty or getting sensitive material. The investigation is still going. The case shows how political strategy, media influence, and party money can blur together in Spain’s election system. Agency staff openly questioned the logic and size of these payments, showing just how unusual the operation was. For PSOE, the fallout is not just about one payment. It is about the trust in its campaign practices and the new scrutiny on its finances.
