Judge Santiago Pedraz has formally summoned Belén Gualda, president of the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), as a suspect in the ongoing ‘Leire Case’ investigation. At the public prosecutor’s request, he has also called more than 20 other individuals to testify in a probe into alleged irregularities in the management of state-funded company bailouts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The proceedings are recorded as preliminary case 150/2025. The summonses and document requests are investigative measures, not findings of guilt.
The case centers on Leire Díez, a former PSOE member described in court-related reporting as an intermediary, and alleged efforts to influence or destabilize judicial proceedings affecting the party and the Spanish Government, including matters involving people connected to the Prime Minister. The prosecutor’s submission cites preliminary evidence suggesting a “repeated, coordinated, and structured pattern of conduct” among those under investigation. The allegations remain under examination.
Reporting on investigative material places alleged contacts between Díez and former SEPI president Vicente Fernández as far back as 2019, when Díez worked in communications at ENUSA, a company in the SEPI group. Belén Gualda was appointed SEPI president on 3 March 2021. An alleged message cited in reporting on material analyzed by Spain’s Civil Guard investigative unit, the UCO, describes an effort to appoint Díez head of Gualda’s cabinet to “recover control of SEPI.” The message is an allegation, not an established judicial finding.
The inquiry has also turned to PSOE spending on professional services. After testimony from party manager Ana María Fuentes, Judge Pedraz sought records of legal and consulting services hired by basic and territorial party bodies between 2021 and 2025. The request covers contracts and engagement letters, as well as case files and payment records. The judge gave the party 15 days to provide the material and required it to do so “without further delay.” The request is intended, in part, to examine whether legal engagements could have been used to channel or disguise payments to Díez; it does not establish that this occurred. The order also recognized protections for genuinely privileged material and the party’s right not to provide information it considers self-incriminating.
PSOE organization secretary Rebeca Torró said the party had asked the court to respect lawyer-client confidentiality and described the arrangements as ordinary legal services: “There were two legal-services contracts, and that was it.” She also said the PSOE had no knowledge of payments to the alleged network through lawyers hired by the party. Torró has called UCO reports “theses” and “hypotheses that do not necessarily have to be true.” These statements reflect the party’s position; they do not resolve the matters under investigation.
The investigation has drawn attention because of the prominence of those involved and the public resources at stake. SEPI, Spain’s state industrial holding company, played a central role in pandemic-era business support. The case is being watched for what its findings may reveal about oversight of emergency financial interventions and possible political influence over public funds. No final judicial determination has been made.
This development comes amid broader judicial scrutiny of public funds and pandemic-era cases. In a related case, the Spanish Supreme Court recently suspended Víctor de Aldama’s prison sentence after his cooperation in the ‘caso Koldo’ corruption scandal, fueling debate over accountability in high-profile cases. For more on the legal field surrounding pandemic-era investigations, see the report on the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in the ‘caso Koldo’ here.
