Did the PSC pay 20,000 euros to the 'plot' or is the judge mistaken about the party?

BarcelonaThe same day that the judge authorized the Civil Guard to appear at the PSOE headquarters in Madrid, from Carrer Pallars in Barcelona, the PSC sent all the documentation related to its 2024 electoral campaign. The National Court suspects that in one of the invoices, payments could be hidden to the alleged network headed by Santos Cerdán and Leire Díez. Under discussion are, according to investigators, 20,000 euros that would have ended up at Crónica Libre, a media outlet created by Leire Díez herself and the journalist Patricia López. But the PSC flatly denies that they placed advertising there and also that they did so through Iki Group, an intermediary company that is mentioned in the case file.

The campaign for the Catalan elections of 2024 began on April 26 and the judge is looking for a payment around May. On what do the police investigators base their investigation? In the summary, they cite two news articles from El Confidencial, in which several audios can be heard that have been digitally altered so that the speakers cannot be identified.

Person 1: Was it 20,000 euros?

— Person 2: Yes.

P1: And they pay you for this?

— P2: They give it to me with a Salvador Illa campaign in the newspaper.

P1: Agreed. I haven't found this campaign in Crónica Libre.

— P2: Home, because we took it out as soon as the elections passed, don't screw with me.

P1: Okay, I'll look for it because, anyway, it has to be there. Even if you've removed it, there must be a trace of the campaign, because they would be your articles.

— P2: No, no, they were just banners.

P1: Ah, they were just banners. Damn, banners pay well.

— P2: They were well paid.

[...]

— P2: Of course there are invoices, it's an advertising campaign, but I didn't invoice the PSOE, but rather a media company that they chose.

P1: Ah, okay. Logical. The media company that is running the campaign for Mr. Illa.

— P2: Clear.

The criminal indications, therefore, start from these unidentified audios – it is understood that one of the people (P2) worked for the scheme – published in March by El Confidencial. The news in which they are included are provided to the case by the Civil Guard and considered relevant by the judge. In the rest of the file, neither "the company that runs Mr. Illa's campaign" nor the invoice for 20,000 euros in question is identified. But there is a reference to an advertising campaign contracted during an electoral period in Crónica Libre. It is 18,125.8 euros paid by the consultancy IKI Group Communications to cover various banners on the website between May 24, 2024 (therefore, twelve days after the parliamentary elections) and June 7. But that campaign was no longer for the Catalan elections, but for the European elections held on June 9. And the beneficiary was no longer the PSC and Salvador Illa, but the PSOE and Teresa Ribera.

, to promote the city within the framework of the Fitur fair.

What was Crónica LibreCould there be a campaign and party confusion? The judge intends to delve into the PSC's electoral expenses, but, for now, has not requested a review of the PSOE's campaign accounts for the European elections. Precisely to clarify doubts, Junts, PP, and Vox have requested Salvador Illa's appearance in Parliament this week, but for now, PSC, ERC, and Comuns have blocked it, arguing that the explanations should be given by the PSOE. In the Senate, however, the PP will force the appearance of the President of the Generalitat. The other contract with the socialists that Esteban was aware of is one with the Salou City Council, which was made in January 2024, to promote the city within the framework of the Fitur fair.

What was Crónica Libre

The judge places the origin of the alleged plot on April 26, 2024, at the PSOE headquartersAlthough the Crónica Libre website remains active, no news has been published there for months. Its director, Patricia López, died victim of cancer last December. The summary also includes the intention to sell the outlet for one euro to a company led by Leire Díez.

The origin of the plot

The judge places the origin of the alleged plot on April 26, 2024, at the PSOE headquarters. Before that, there could have been a more or less active group without the party's participation, but Santiago Pedraz believes that meeting marked "a turning point" and that from then on, the Socialist Party could have supported the actions of Leire Díez's group. On that day, there was a meeting where, in theory, it was decided that work would be done to counteract the investigations of Sánchez's wife, his brother, and others through an alleged criminal plan. The then organization secretary of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán; the party's communication director, Ion Antolín; the militant Leire Díez; the businessman Javier Pérez Dolset; and Juan Manuel Serrano, who was Sánchez's chief of staff at the PSOE and director of Correos, discussed this.

That meeting coincided with the five days of reflection that Pedro Sánchez gave himself to decide whether to withdraw from politics in the face of judicial accusations against members of his family. It also coincided with the electoral campaign in Catalonia, which opened the doors of the Generalitat to Salvador Illa. For this reason, Pedraz finds it plausible that Illa's campaign was used to camouflage some payment intended to finance the plot.