GUARDIA Civil officers went into Spain’s ruling PSOE Socialist Party HQ in Madrid on Wednesday morning to look for evidence over an illegal payments scheme.
The news comes as a raft of corruption probes continue into allies and relatives of Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.
The El Pais newspaper reported that the Guardia Civil’s elite Central Operative Unit (UCO) were acting on a court order to find material linked to an investigation into corruption allegations against a former senior PSOE figure- Leire Diez.
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Diez with a background in journalist had been branded as the party’s fixer or ‘plumber’.
She was arrested in December for allegedly belonging to a criminal organisation, official misconduct, embezzlement and influence peddling.
Diez was recorded talking to businessmen over pending legal cases in order to get compromising information about leading police and legal figures probing PSOE corruption.
Wednesday’s operation was authorised by the National Court and is linked to an unrelated investigation overseen by the country’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor.
The HQ visit followed a judicial request for information which requires prior notice and targets specific items, as distinct from an ‘entry and search’ raid to gather all kinds of evidence.
Commenting during a visit to Rome, Pedro Sanchez, said: “All these investigations do not challenge all the advances that this progressive government is making, without detracting from the seriousness of all these probes.”
“There is total collaboration with the courts and there has been a lot of ‘fake news’ about it being an issue of irregular financing.”
“We do not have much more information than what we know from the media, but we will act forcefully if necessary,” Sanchez told reporters.
El Pais also reported that several other Guardia Civil searches were executed on Wednesday.
On the list were the Madrid homes of former high-profile PSOE figures, Gaspar Zarrias and Santos Cerdan(arrested last December), in addition to businessman, Javier Perez Dolset.
Pedro Sanchez’s party has been beset by a slew of corruption scandals.
A court last week ruled that ex-PSOE Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, should be investigated for leading an influence-peddling and money-laundering network.
Zapatero has denied any wrongdoing.
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