The judge requests information from twelve banks to trace PSOE payments linked to the Leire case

MadridThe judge is making a move to scrutinize the alleged payments made by the PSOE to Leire Díez as part of supposed maneuvers instigated to destabilize and obstruct judicial cases involving individuals close to Pedro Sánchez. Santiago Pedraz wants to delve deeper into the suspicion that a series of invoices paid by the party were used to secretly fund the activities of the so-called plumber of the PSOE. The National High Court magistrate has accepted the request from the Civil Guard – backed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office – and has requested information from twelve banks regarding the movements and balances of 81 accounts related to the case. Six of these belong to the PSOE. Additionally, there are 62 accounts belonging to Ismael Oliver and his law firm, eleven linked to Gaspar Zarrías, who was vice-president of the Regional Government of Andalusia, and one belonging to Jacobo Teijelo, who is one of Santos Cerdán's lawyers.

“It cannot be ruled out that cross-referencing the different accounts may shed light on those payments that are suspected of having been made, but which have not been proven,” argues the judge, adopting the words of the two prosecutors. Initially, Santiago Pedraz halted the Central Operational Unit (UCO) and urged it to indicate the “specific” accounts into which Leire Díez allegedly received money for specific tracking. However, the UCO justified that it was necessary to “avoid premature limitation” and the magistrate ultimately agreed.

In a filing to which el ARA has had access, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office explains its thesis: “To channel these payments without revealing the payer, companies belonging to the investigated individuals would have been used with the presumed agreement of the PSOE manager,” it states. Although initially also opposed to the UCO's requests, it now acknowledges that it is appropriate given that an “intricate support system” existed and after an “overlap and concealment of certain payments” has been discovered. Lawyer Ismael Oliver and Ana María Fuentes – the PSOE manager – will have to testify as investigated parties on Wednesday, September 9.

What payments were they?

The judge is scrutinizing the bank accounts of three individuals who, according to the Prosecutor's Office, were part of the "impetus" and "intellectual and financial support" of Leire Díez, along with Santos Cerdán, who at the time was the number three in the PSOE. Firstly, between May and September 2024, Leire Díez received a remuneration of 4,000 euros from Zaño Consultora, Gaspar Zarrías's company. The total cost of her hiring was 7,505 euros, which is the exact amount the PSOE paid to the company. However, the suspicion is that it served as a front company. On the other hand, Gaspar Zarrías's defense claims he is implicated in the case "solely for having hired" Leire Díez.

Subsequently, the PSOE allegedly activated a new operation to channel money to Leire Díez through consultancy invoices to two lawyers, who are now under investigation: Ismael Oliver and Jacobo Teijelo. First, Leire Díez received 27,225 euros from Ismael Oliver's firm: "The flow of money is perfectly traced," says the Prosecutor's Office. Later, Jacobo Teijelo received 125,000 euros from the PSOE which – according to the public ministry – were intended to pay him and could be the "vehicle" to remunerate Leire Díez, even though "the payments" from him to her have not been substantiated. When he testified, he explained that the PSOE hired him to study what could happen with cases related to the party's circle.

A "prospective, absurd, and unfounded" request

There is an immediate first reaction to this request. In a document to which ARA has had access, Gaspar Zarrías reproaches the judge for having given the green light to a