Leire Díez case: UCO traces 81 bank accounts to find financiers of the network
The UCO and Anti-Corruption prosecutors analyse 81 accounts linked to Zarrías, two lawyers and the PSOE to identify those ultimately responsible for the alleged network.
The UCO and Anti-Corruption follow the money trail in the Leire Díez case
The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard and Anti-Corruption prosecutors Elisa Lamelas and Mar Scharfhausen have expanded their financial analysis in the so-called Leire Díez case, according to El País. With the backing of the National Court, investigators are tracing dozens of bank accounts to identify the "ultimate financiers" of the alleged network led by former socialist activist Leire Díez and Santos Cerdán, former Organisation Secretary of the PSOE, who allegedly sought to "destabilise" judicial processes related to the party and the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
In a report dated 21 July, the prosecutors informed judge Santiago Pedraz—the case's instructor at the National Court—that progress in the investigation has provided "new data" that confirm the use of individuals and companies as fronts to "conceal" and "hide payments". This circumstance, according to the public prosecutor's office, "requires" the analysis of a total of 81 bank accounts. Most are linked to Gaspar Zarrías, former vice president of the Andalusian Regional Government, and lawyers Ismael Oliver and Jacobo Teijelo—identified as the alleged channel for transmitting funds to Leire Díez—but six PSOE accounts are also included. The declared objective of the prosecutors is to "determine the ultimate responsible party or parties, financiers, of the activity carried out by Leire and the involvement, where applicable, of the other investigated individuals".
September will set the pace for the case
The move comes as the various legal parties are already looking towards September, the month when the case will resume activity following an August recess. Judge Pedraz has scheduled 9 September for the questioning of Ana María Fuentes, PSOE manager indicted for, according to the prosecutors, issuing "false invoices" to justify payments to third parties whose real destination would have been Leire Díez. The question remains open as to whether the investigation will escalate further up the chain of responsibilities. The PSOE is not indicted as a legal entity, but the PP, which is exercising popular prosecution, has already placed it at the centre of its strategy. "I believe that technically and with the Criminal Code in hand, it is very possible that the PSOE will end up indicted," said Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of the party.
The May indictment and the network's dual strategy
On 27 May, the National Court indicted Leire Díez, Santos Cerdán, Gaspar Zarrías, businessman Javier Pérez Dolset and lawyers Oliver and Teijelo in a new line of investigation. After receiving several reports from the Civil Guard and Anti-Corruption, judge Pedraz concluded that there are indications that a network was created to "protect itself" against judicial cases "that could affect the Government and the PSOE". The summary describes a dual plan: on the one hand, contact with individuals who could provide compromising information about agents, judges and prosecutors involved in the investigations they sought to "destabilise", in order to "undermine" their "credibility"; on the other hand, an attempt to "encourage" the opening of "internal investigations" within the armed forces to generate a "climate" of intimidation among UCO officers.
Santos Cerdán at the top according to Anti-Corruption
Prosecutors Lamelas and Scharfhausen, together with UCO agents, have so far placed Santos Cerdán at the top of the structure. "A superior role is attributed to Santos Cerdán," they summarise in their report of 21 July, where they note that the former number three of the PSOE "ordered" Leire Díez, in April 2024, to "coordinate and execute a series of legally relevant activities" to "systematically and continuously destabilise any judicial proceeding or police action that could directly or indirectly impact the interests of the PSOE or the Government". Through Cerdán, according to the public prosecutor's office, "the PSOE would have made its logistical and financial infrastructure available to said group".
The current party leadership has distanced itself from the network and limits any possible responsibility to Santos Cerdán. Despite this, investigators insist on delving deeper into the financial trail without ruling out any line of inquiry.
Monthly payments and questioned invoices
Reports from Anti-Corruption and the UCO point to funds being "channelled" from the PSOE to Leire Díez through various channels. Among the movements identified are four monthly payments of €4,000 to the activist, channelled through a company belonging to Gaspar Zarrías, and the payment of a further €27,225 through two "shell companies" of lawyer Ismael Oliver.
The prosecutors also note that lawyer Teijelo issued and received three invoices from the party totalling €125,000, "for services that were not provided and for which he had not been contracted". Anti-Corruption puts forward the hypothesis that part of that money could have ended up in Leire Díez's hands, given that Teijelo would have acted as a "vehicle" to continue paying her €4,000 monthly from the Organisation Secretariat, once Zarrías "withdrew" from that role following the first public reports about the alleged network.
Sources close to Leire Díez reject that she received payments from the PSOE through intermediaries. For his part, Jacobo Teijelo denied to judge Pedraz in June any irregularity and any payment to the socialist, and stated that the party hired him for legitimate services.
Source: El País