Spanish police entered the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in Madrid on Wednesday as part of a judicial investigation into possible financial wrongdoing, according to local media reports.
The Civil Guard told the Associated Press that officers were acting under judicial orders to find material relevant to a National Court inquiry into accusations of corruption against former party members and other individuals. The search was led by National Court judge Santiago Pedraz and was strictly limited to the inquiry into possible wrongdoing by PSOE member Leire Diez.
The case against Diez began in 2025 when audio recordings appeared in Spanish media of her apparent involvement in attempts to discredit a member of the Civil Guard's anticorruption unit. Further reports linked her to alleged attempts to influence the work of state prosecutors. The inquiry is focused on whether Diez received payments from the party to allegedly carry out those efforts.
PSOE spokesperson Montse Minguez told local Catalunya Radio that the party was calm and fully cooperating with the courts, stressing that any information requested would be handed over. Police were following a judicial request for information requiring prior notice and targeting specific items, which is distinct from an entry and search carried out without prior notice to gather all kinds of evidence, Reuters reported.
The search came one week after former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was placed under formal investigation in connection with a government airline bailout. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was not in Madrid on Wednesday. He was visiting the Vatican ahead of Pope Leo XIV's planned visit to Spain next month. Sanchez was scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day, his first since Rodriguez Zapatero was placed under investigation.
The corruption cases now extend into Sanchez's inner circle. His brother and his wife are also under investigation over allegations of influence peddling, which both deny. Sanchez has dismissed the cases as baseless and part of a right-wing smear campaign. Former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, once described as Sanchez's right-hand man, is also awaiting a verdict in a separate corruption trial that heard closing arguments earlier in May.
Alberto Nunez Feijoo, head of the main opposition conservative People's Party, said Sanchez's government "stinks" of corruption and renewed his call for early elections.
