While Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican, the police came to the headquarters of his party in Madrid. Photo: AP
Sanchez in the Vatican, and the police at his party’s headquarters
A special investigative unit of the Spanish police visited the headquarters of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Spanish Socialist Party in Madrid on Wednesday morning and requested documentation as part of an investigation into alleged corruption at the state-owned holding company SEPI, El Pais newspaper reported. House searches are also underway at the homes of several high-ranking former party officials and businessmen. Meanwhile, Sanchez is visiting the Vatican and met with Pope Leo XIV.
Investigators, according to the newspaper, were looking for documents related to the already arrested and charged Leire Diez, who allegedly “managed” things for the socialist party, the former director of the state holding company SEPI, Vicente Fernández, who allegedly received bribes, and Basque businessman Antxon Alonso. The trio, in conjunction with several civil servants, is said to have formed a corruption scheme for obtaining material benefits. The investigation focuses on five deals between 2021 and 2023 with a total value of more than 130 million euros, El Pais reports.
Soon after the police entered the headquarters of the ruling socialist party, the leader of the largest opposition People’s Party, Alberto Feijoo, again called for early elections and said that the situation in the country was becoming unsustainable due to corruption scandals. In Madrid on Saturday, 80,000 participants demanded the resignation of Sanchez, who has been in charge of the government since 2018.
The current investigation at the party’s headquarters is only one of many that have shaken the socialists for several years and have a seat on Sanchez. The subjects of the investigations are members of his party, former ministers, close associates and also family members, including his brother and wife. Former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is now also being investigated for the controversial bailout of the airline during the covid pandemic.
Sanchez denies any personal involvement in corruption. Two years ago, he said he was taking time to consider resigning in protest of an investigation into his wife Begona Gomez’s alleged influence peddling for private business. He did not resign after that.
