Spain’s ruling PSOE has been plunged into fresh turmoil after anti-corruption investigators entered the party’s headquarters in Madrid on Wednesday.
The move comes as part of an explosive probe into an alleged covert operation targeting judges, prosecutors and police investigators.
Officers from the UCO, the elite operational unit of the Guardia Civil, arrived at the PSOE’s Ferraz headquarters this morning following a request for information ordered by judge Santiago Pedraz.
The investigation centres on former PSOE militant Leire Diez, described by investigators as a political fixer for the party.
According to judicial sources cited by Cadena SER, investigators are probing whether a clandestine ‘plumbing operation’ existed to obstruct judicial investigations affecting PSOE figures or people linked to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The alleged scheme is suspected of involving smear campaigns against judges, prosecutors and the UCO itself.
Investigators reportedly believe PSOE may have paid for some of these services, prompting the judge to demand extensive documentation from party headquarters.
The case has already resulted in several high-profile figures being formally placed under investigation.
Among them are former PSOE organisation secretary Santos Cerdan, former Andalusian minister Gaspar Zarrias, businessman Javier Perez Dolset and lawyer Ismael Oliver.
They are being investigated over alleged offences including criminal organisation, bribery, leaking secrets, inducing false testimony, false accusations, document forgery, influence peddling and crimes against state institutions.
The judge has also implicated PSOE manager Ana Maria Fuentes as a possible accomplice linked to allegedly false invoices.
Meanwhile, lawyer Jacobo Teijelo and Guardia Civil officer Juan Sanchez are also under investigation.
According to sources linked to the investigation, Cerdan is believed to have been one of the alleged architects behind the purported campaign to discredit judges and prosecutors.
Judge Pedraz also ordered searches of the homes of Cerdan, Zarrías and Perez Dolset on Wednesday.
Despite the dramatic developments, judicial sources stressed the operation at PSOE headquarters was technically a request for documentation rather than a formal police raid.
Speaking from the Vatican after meeting Pope Leo XIV, Sanchez insisted his party was offering ‘total collaboration with justice’.
The prime minister said: ‘It is a request for information, not a search, without minimising the seriousness of the ongoing operation.’
He added that PSOE had already taken decisions regarding Leire Diez when the scandal first emerged and insisted the investigations did not undermine the work of his government.
Sanchez also reiterated his intention to continue governing until the end of the legislature.
The opposition Partido Popular seized on the latest scandal, with party leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo describing the situation as ‘agonising’ and demanding early elections.
Meanwhile, Podemos leader Ione Belarra declared the legislature effectively ‘finished’, although she ruled out supporting a no-confidence motion backed by the PP.
Socialist sources accused the PP of benefiting from alleged privileged information surrounding the investigation and criticised what they described as a politically charged atmosphere surrounding the case.
