Judge to decide on PSOE indictment before election campaign
Magistrate Santiago Pedraz will rule on whether to charge the PSOE as a legal entity following an Anti-Corruption Prosecution report, before 13 November. The decision could come by the end of this week.
PSOE indictment in investigation of alleged illegal surveillance operations
According to ABC, the National High Court judge overseeing the investigation into alleged illegal surveillance operations by the Socialist Party will make a decision on whether to charge the PSOE as a legal entity before the start of the election campaign scheduled for 13 November. Magistrate Santiago Pedraz has not suspended the investigation and will rule immediately upon receiving the report from the Anti-Corruption Prosecution.
The People's Party, which represents the popular accusations in the proceedings, requested this week the indictment of Sánchez's party for bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, money laundering and illegal financing. Legal sources consulted indicated that the Public Ministry department specialising in corruption, headed by Alejandro Luzón, was scheduled to deliver its report no later than this Thursday.
The magistrate's investigation examines whether the PSOE funded a scheme designed to obstruct judicial proceedings affecting the close circle of Pedro Sánchez, including the case against his wife, Begoña Gómez, and the case against his brother, musician David Sánchez.
Those investigated for alleged criminal organisation
Among those under investigation are Leire Díez, known as the PSOE's "plumber"; party manager Ana María Fuentes; Sánchez's former chief of staff, Juan Manuel Serrano; former secretary of organisation Santos Cerdán; and lawyer Jacobo Teijelo, among others. They are attributed with evidence of criminal organisation, bribery, disclosure of secrets, inducing false testimony and influence peddling.
The People's Party maintains that the investigation has confirmed that the PSOE funded the expenses of the criminal organisation on the instructions of Cerdán together with Díez. The conservatives argue that the rationale for each crime under investigation was to protect the interests of the PSOE and its members against multiple judicial proceedings for corruption.
Proceedings reveal connections
The proceedings conducted by the judge have already made it possible to establish that Díez obtained a meeting with Diego Villafañe, right-hand man to former prosecutor general Álvaro García Ortiz. It has also been verified that the "plumber" had a parking space at PSOE central headquarters and that the party authorised payments for her travel to allegedly carry out tasks.
The magistrate has also investigated whether payments to Díez were concealed through invoices issued by lawyers such as Teijelo or Ismael Moreno, claiming advisory services. This week, Pedraz has requested from the PSOE a complete list of all lawyers contracted between 2021 and 2025, along with documentation on services provided and their justification.
Timeline of decision
With the election campaign still five weeks away, the investigator will not delay his ruling, according to legal sources. The magistrate will have to assess whether there is sufficient evidence that the scheme allegedly led by Cerdán and Díez had access to the party's operational, logistical and financial means to fund the alleged persecution of judges and prosecutors.
The PP asserts that there were no oversight and surveillance measures in place at Ferraz adequate to prevent the commission of crimes regarding the approval of expenses and hiring of services, given that these decisions depended solely on the party's senior management without any oversight.
Source: ABC