SPAIN POLITICAL CORRUPTION
Corruption investigations, bribery scandals and misconduct cases involving Spanish politicians and public officials at regional and national levels
11 articles
Civil Guard raids Cádiz provincial council over contracts with businessman investigated for drug-linked money laundering
EL PAÍSLa Guardia Civil entra en la Diputación de Cádiz por contratos con un empresario investigado por blanqueo vinculado al narcotráfico
Jul 1, 2026, 04:04 PM
Spain's Civil Guard has raided the Cádiz provincial council over contracts with a businessman under investigation for money laundering linked to drug trafficking. Officers requested information from the council department managed by the mayor of El Puerto de Santa María.
Prosecutor places ex-minister Fernández Díaz at the head of Operation Kitchen: His participation has been proven
EL PAÍSEl fiscal sitúa al exministro Fernández Díaz al frente de la Operación Kitchen: “Se ha acreditado su participación”
Jun 30, 2026, 12:57 PM
Prosecutors placed former interior minister Jorge Fernández Díaz at the head of Operation Kitchen, saying his participation has been proven and that he was in control. The public prosecutor, making its closing argument, is seeking 15 years in prison for the former PP figure and close ally of Mariano Rajoy.
Prosecution maintains 15-year prison request for former minister Fernández Díaz in the 'Kitchen case'
EL PAÍSLa Fiscalía mantiene la petición de 15 años de cárcel para el exministro Fernández Díaz por el ‘caso Kitchen’
Jun 29, 2026, 02:00 PM
Spain's prosecution has maintained its request for a 15-year prison sentence for former interior minister Fernández Díaz in the 'Kitchen case', involving an alleged police operation to spy on a former party treasurer. The court announced that charges are being dropped against two police commanders who had been on trial since it began.
Zapatero asks the judge to declare 'general nullity' of the Plus Ultra case for violating his fundamental rights
EL PAÍSZapatero pide al juez que declare la “nulidad general” del ‘caso Plus Ultra’ por vulnerar sus derechos fundamentales
Jun 25, 2026, 01:24 PM
Former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has asked the judge to declare the 'general nullity' of the Plus Ultra case, arguing it violates his fundamental rights. In a filing before the National Court, he demands the exclusion of 'all evidence obtained.' The Plus Ultra case concerns a controversial state bailout of an airline and has drawn political scrutiny.
A lawyer charged in the Leire Díez case: 'They're persecuting the lawyers who handle the PSOE's defense'
EL PAÍSUn letrado imputado en el caso de Leire Díez: “Están persiguiendo a los abogados que desempeñan la defensa del PSOE”
Jun 25, 2026, 11:12 AM
A lawyer charged in the Leire Díez case said authorities 'are persecuting the lawyers who handle the defense of the PSOE.' Before Spain's National Court, Teijelo stated that the Socialist Party hired him to study the viability of several judicial proceedings, but invoked professional privilege to avoid offering further details. The case has become a politically charged investigation linked to the governing party.
SEPI insists the rescued airlines' files 'were reviewed a thousand times'
EL PAÍSLa SEPI asegura que los expedientes de las aerolíneas rescatadas “se revisaron mil veces”
Jun 9, 2026, 02:38 PM
Spain's state holding company SEPI says the files of the airlines it rescued—at the centre of the Plus Ultra affair—'were reviewed a thousand times'. PP deputy Rafael Hernando claimed that PSOE corruption 'had never happened in the history of this country'.
Villarejo strips his notebooks of value as evidence of the Bárcenas spying in Operation Kitchen
EL PAÍSVillarejo vacía de valor sus agendas como prueba del espionaje a Bárcenas en la Operación Kitchen
Jun 9, 2026, 11:41 AM
Retired police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo sought to strip his notebooks of evidentiary value in the spying on former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas under Operation Kitchen. Before the National Court he said his diaries recorded mere 'musings' and denied being tasked with finding recordings of Rajoy.
Judge Calama asks the US for permission to use messages about Zapatero as trial evidence
EL PAÍSEl juez Calama pide a EE UU autorización para usar como prueba en un juicio los mensajes sobre Zapatero
Jun 9, 2026, 10:11 AM
Judge Calama has asked the United States for authorization to use, as evidence in a trial, messages mentioning former prime minister Zapatero. In March a US agency handed Spanish police the contents—seized in 2021—of the phone of Rodolfo Reyes, a Venezuelan former executive of the airline Plus Ultra.
Judge Pedraz Separates Alleged Cash Delivery at PSOE HQ from Fuel Fraud Case
EL PAÍSEl juez Pedraz desvincula la supuesta entrega de dinero en Ferraz de Carmen Pano con la trama de hidrocarburos
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
Judge Santiago Pedraz has ruled that the alleged cash handover at the PSOE's Ferraz headquarters involving Carmen Pano is not connected to the wider hydrocarbon fraud network under investigation. The judge rejected calls to summon eight new witnesses and refused to order the identification of individuals who worked on the second floor of the Socialist party's Madrid headquarters. The ruling narrows the judicial scope of the case and limits further investigative avenues linked to the PSOE premises.
The Julio Iglesias Case: Should Spain Investigate Its Own Most Famous Son?
EL PAÍSCaso Julio Iglesias: ¿no es acaso español el “español más universal”?
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
An opinion piece in El País argues that Spanish justice has an obligation to investigate the sexual abuse accusations against singer Julio Iglesias, regardless of his international fame or the principle of presumption of innocence. The author contends that invoking the presumption of innocence does not excuse judicial inaction, and that Iglesias's Spanish nationality means Spanish courts should not turn a blind eye. The piece frames the case as a test of equal treatment under the law for the country's most globally recognised entertainer.
Prosecutors Drop Inquiry into PSOE's 'Pendrive' Submitted to National Court in Leire Díez Case
EL PAÍSLa Fiscalía archiva las diligencias del ‘pendrive’ de la investigación de Leire Díez que el PSOE entregó en la Audiencia Nacional
Mar 17, 2026, 04:30 AM
Spanish prosecutors have shelved their inquiry into a USB drive submitted by the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) to the National Court as part of the investigation into former party member Leire Díez. After receiving a report from the Civil Guard's forensic unit (UCO), the public prosecutor found no new elements in the material provided and decided not to open any new legal proceedings. The decision effectively closes this particular avenue of the wider political corruption case.