The raid at the office in central Madrid is another blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party, which has been shaken by a series of corruption scandals.
The Civil Guard told the news agency “The Associated Press” that the police received a court order to find material related to the National Court investigation into corruption charges against former party members and other individuals.
The police indicated that the raid is strictly limited to the investigation led by National Court judge Santiago Pedraz regarding possible offenses by Socialist Party member Leire Diez.
The case against L. Diez was initiated in 2025 when audio recordings appeared in the Spanish media, capturing her possible involvement in attempts to discredit a member of the Civil Guard’s anti-corruption unit. Later reports linked her to alleged attempts to influence the work of state prosecutors. The judge’s investigation aims to determine whether she received payments from the party to carry out these actions.
The Socialist Party stated that L. Diez acted independently. L. Diez, who left the party, denies committing any offenses.
On Wednesday, a court statement said that Judge S. Pedraz ordered the Civil Guard to “confiscate various documents and electronic archives during the investigation into a network aimed at destabilizing judicial processes affecting the ruling party.”
The judge said that besides L. Diez, he is also investigating the possible involvement of former influential socialist figure Santos Cerdán, who is already under investigation in a separate corruption case, as well as a former member of the Andalusian regional government, a police officer, a business owner, and two lawyers. These individuals are suspected of bribery, giving false testimony, falsifying commercial documents, influence peddling, and corruption.
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Last week, a separate court announced it is investigating former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s activities related to government support for certain airlines. He denies any wrongdoing.
P. Sánchez’s wife and brother are being investigated for influence peddling charges, which both deny.
Additionally, S. Cerdán and a former minister from P. Sánchez’s government are being investigated on suspicions of participating in a “gratitude tax” network that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. They deny these allegations, but this investigation causes the greatest damage to the socialists.
Since 2018, Prime Minister P. Sánchez has called the cases against his family a smear campaign. However, due to corruption cases against his former associates in 2025, he asked the nation for forgiveness.
His minority government depends on the support of a smaller coalition partner, which so far remains together despite the judicial actions.
P. Sánchez, known internationally for his progressive positions that angered US President Donald Trump, has not been directly linked to any of the scandals.
