Officers from the Spanish Civil Guard’s Central Operative Unit (UCO) have raided Spain’s ruling Socialist Party’s (PSOE) national headquarters to carry out a search ordered by a judge in connection with a sealed section of the Leire Díez case. Díez, the party’s former “fixer,” is currently under investigation for influence peddling.
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The Civil Guard has been at the Ferraz street building since early this morning as part of a special operation focusing on a separate and secret aspect of the case, which is also said to involve Vicente Fernández, the former president of the State Company for Industrial Investments (SEPI), a state investment firm. Díez and Fernández were arrested by UCO in December.
The officers will also search the home of PSOE’s Gaspar Zarrías, who was key in the decision to hire Díez.
The judge is looking to determine to what extent Díez was acting on her own or on instructions from her party or the government.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the opposition, commented on the case as he arrived at Congress, saying: “Its extreme seriousness speaks for itself”.
It comes around a week after authorities also searched the offices of former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over the Plus Ultra corruption inquiry.
