The judge requests information from twelve banks to trace the PSOE payments linked to the Leire case
Santiago Pedraz claims data on six bank accounts of the socialists
MadridThe judge is making a move to scrutinize the alleged payments made by the PSOE to Leire Díez as part of alleged maneuvers instigated to destabilize and obstruct judicial cases involving Pedro Sánchez's circle. Santiago Pedraz suspects that a series of invoices paid by the party were used to covertly fund the activities of the so-called "plumber" of the PSOE, and he now wishes to delve deeper into this. The investigating judge of the National High Court 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 82 accounts related to the case. Six of these belong to the PSOE. Furthermore, 61 belong to Ismael Oliver and his law firm, eleven belong to Gaspar Zarrías and his consultancy, and one belongs to Jacobo Teijelo.
"It cannot be ruled out that cross-referencing between the different accounts may shed light on those payments that are suspected to have been made but could not be proven," argues the judge, adopting the words of the two prosecutors. Initially, Santiago Pedraz halted the Central Operative Unit (UCO) and urged it to specify the "concrete" accounts into which Leire Díez allegedly received money linked to the investigation in order to track them specifically. However, the UCO reiterated its initial request to go further, justifying that it was necessary to "avoid a premature limitation" of the accounts that could "prevent knowledge of the flow of funds or relevant operations." The judge has now acceded, arguing that there is no "prior filter" that allows for discrimination between accounts.
In a document accessed by the ARA, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office explains its suspicion: "To arrange these payments without revealing the originator, companies belonging to the investigated individuals would have been used with the presumed agreement of the PSOE manager," it states. And it believes that the UCO's request is appropriate given that there was an "intricate system of economic support" 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 9th.
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" for Leire Díez, along with Santos Cerdán, who was the number three in the PSOE at the time. What does the Prosecutor's Office say? 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 the contract was 7,505 euros, the exact amount the PSOE paid to the company. This ended when the alleged scheme began to appear in the press. Gaspar Zarrías's lawyer claims he is involved in the case "solely for having hired" Leire Díez.
The Prosecutor's Office states that, subsequently, the PSOE activated a new operation to get money to Leire Díez: paying two of the lawyers who are under investigation, who "would invoice the PSOE amounts that they would later pass on to her." They were Ismael Oliver and Jacobo Teijelo, who submitted consultancy invoices. First, Leire Díez received 27,225 euros from Ismael Oliver's law firm to "conceal the true origin" of the funds. "The flow of money is perfectly traced," says the Prosecutor's Office. For his part, Jacobo Teijelo – who is part of Santos Cerdán's defense – 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 proven." When he testified, he explained that the PSOE hired him to study what could happen with the cases involving people close to the party.
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 that it is a "prospective, absurd and unfounded" diligence that goes beyond what would be necessary for him to extend the scrutiny to accounts that "are not related" to the facts and about which there is no suspicion: "It simply seeks to look at everything to see if I find something," he laments.
