The UCO interrogated Sánchez's former right-hand man as an investigated person in the Leire Díez case
Juan Manuel Serrano gave a statement to the Guardia Civil on 27 May as an investigated person and refused to declare. The case points to further charges.
Four people not formally charged gave statements to the UCO in the Leire Díez case
The court record in the Leire Díez case shows that up to four people who are not listed as defendants at the National Court were interrogated as investigated persons by the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil. Among them is Pedro Sánchez's former right-hand man in the PSOE, Juan Manuel Serrano. According to El País, legal sources indicate that the case will be expanded with new charges following the searches, summonses and interrogations carried out last week.
On 27 May 2025, at 8.55 am, officers informed Serrano of "the facts for which he is being investigated". The UCO places him as a "participant and person aware" of the development of the alleged scheme that between 2024 and 2025 is said to have acted to obstruct judicial proceedings affecting members of the Government or the PSOE. Officers informed him of his rights as an "investigated non-detained person": legal representation, the right to remain silent and not to testify against himself. Serrano, who was also chairman of Correos, chose not to give a statement. The UCO seized his mobile telephone for subsequent analysis and submission of a report to the investigating judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz.
Serrano's "significance" in the genesis of the scheme
In one of the reports already submitted to the National Court, the Guardia Civil highlights Serrano's "involvement" in the alleged scheme and his "significance" in the "genesis" of the investigated activities. Based on the intercepted conversations, officers argue that "it would even seem as if Leire herself would ask him for permission" to hold the meeting on 27 April 2024 at PSOE headquarters. That meeting brought together Díez, former secretary of Organisation Santos Cerdán, former communications director Ion Antolín, socialist MP Juan Francisco Serrano and businessman Javier Pérez Dolset. At that meeting, audio recordings related to activities allegedly carried out by retired police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo were presented.
The UCO identifies Díez as the "principal contact" with Villarejo, but underlines that he was providing an "account to other people". Among those recipients is Serrano, whom he kept continuously informed. For this reason, the armed institute considers that Serrano "is linked" to the scheme and "has interests in it". Officers also note that he was part of a WhatsApp group with three other people, all already charged in the case: Díez, Pérez Dolset and former senator Gaspar Zarrías.
Two PSOE workers interrogated for their logistical role
The UCO also interrogated as investigated persons Covadonga San Pedro and Celia Rodríguez, two employees of the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street responsible for managing cash payments to the Secretary of Organisation. According to officers, both would have collaborated with the alleged scheme "carrying out functions of an auxiliary nature, consisting of logistical and administrative support". Such functions would include the management and coordination of travel for members of the organisation—flights, trains, vehicle hire—whose costs were borne by the party, as well as arrangements that facilitated meetings between the investigated persons.
Among the examples provided is a WhatsApp conversation between Díez and San Pedro in which the former socialist activist requested the booking of a trip to Zaragoza on 10 July 2024, together with businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, to meet with "Salvador". Officers identify this person as a former head of the National Police unit attached to the Seville Courts, who at the time took charge of the so-called ERE case.
In another conversation, from 6 May 2024, Díez requested access to the Ferraz headquarters and asked for a parking space for Serrano's car and his own. San Pedro replied by telling him to notify Santos Cerdán and that he could go up "as if you were in your own home". The two workers invoked their right not to declare, but officers seized two of Rodríguez's telephones—the personal and the corporate—and one belonging to San Pedro.
The lawyer for Koldo García, singled out for offering money to change a statement
The fourth person interrogated as an investigated person was Leticia de la Hoz, the lawyer defending Koldo García, known for having been an adviser to José Luis Ábalos at the Ministry of Transport. Judicial investigations identify her as the person who offered 50,000 euros to Carmen Pano—the businesswoman who stated that she had taken 90,000 euros in cash to PSOE headquarters—so that she would modify her testimony on this matter.
The UCO details up to four meetings in De la Hoz's office with Pano and Álvaro Gallego—the man who accompanied her to the socialist headquarters—to convey that "proposal on behalf of third parties". Those third parties are, according to officers, Díez herself and another lawyer, Ismael Oliver, who also defended Koldo García and who is listed as charged in the case as a member of the alleged scheme.
Source: El País