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Agents from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard arrived early this Wednesday at the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Madrid to request documentation as part of the so-called "Leire case," by order of National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz, reported the agency EFE.
The case focuses on alleged payments to the former socialist militant Leire Díez, who was arrested in December 2025 along with the former president of the State Industrial Participation Company (SEPI), Vicente Fernández, and businessman Antxon Alonso for embezzlement, influence peddling, and organized crime, later being released under precautionary measures.
On the same day, agents from the UCO also visited the office in Madrid of the former vice president of the Andalusian Government, Gaspar Zarrías, who has also been indicted in the case, along with the former Secretary of Organization of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, and the party manager, Ana María Fuentes.
According to a ruling by Judge Pedraz that El País had access to, Cerdán would be the "unit of action and leadership" of a scheme aimed at dismantling judicial cases that affected the PSOE and its surroundings.
Through the consulting firm linked to Zarrías, payments of 4,000 euros per month to Leire Díez would have been arranged.
The group under investigation called itself Hirurok - which means "the three of us" in Basque - and was allegedly engaged in steering administrative files for their own benefit, leveraging their influence over public officials to collect commissions.
Pedro Sánchez, who was in Rome after meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, acknowledged at a press conference the "seriousness" of the investigation and assured of the "full cooperation" of the socialist leadership with the justice system.
The president insisted that the UCO met a documentation request and did not conduct a strict registration, endorsing the "scrupulous" management of manager Ana María Fuentes, stating that he was learning about her indictment from the journalists' questions.
"If there are new irregular behaviors, we will act with the same determination as we have before," declared Sánchez, who also ruled out advancing the general elections.
The leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, responded with a straightforward demand: "There is no choice but to give the Spanish people a voice immediately."
The entry of the UCO in Ferraz occurs just eight days after the National Court judge José Luis Calama charged former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the Plus Ultra case for organized crime, influence peddling, and document forgery.
This case investigates the public bailout of 53 million euros granted to the airline Plus Ultra in March 2021, amid suspicions of money laundering linked to funds of Venezuelan origin. Zapatero acknowledged having received 463,000 euros over six years for consulting work through the company Análisis Relevante.
After learning about his indictment, he stated that "all activities I have carried out have always been in respect of the law."
His appearance before a judge, originally scheduled for June 2, was postponed to the 17th and 18th of that month.
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