Read here the complete judicial resolution that indicts the president of SEPI and 24 other people

The “Leire Díez case” is currently in the investigation phase at the National Court, under the direction of Judge Santiago Pedraz, with the case file partially under secrecy and ongoing investigative proceedings. At the same time, there are related proceedings in other courts (such as Madrid) focused on audios and alleged bribes to prosecutors. At this stage, there is no opening of oral trial nor definitive accusation briefs: statements are being taken, devices and financial documentation are being analyzed, and defense appeals are being resolved. The key next steps include new statements (including from Leire Díez herself), analysis of financial evidence, and the judge's decision on whether to convert the case into an abbreviated procedure or to dismiss parts of the investigation.

1. Current procedural status at the National Court

According to available information, the core of the “Leire Díez case” is an open judicial investigation at the National Court regarding alleged crimes of influence peddling, bribery, obstruction of justice and, in some areas, embezzlement and criminal organization. This case is led by Judge Santiago Pedraz, who in June 2026 ordered the partial lifting of the secrecy of the case file, still keeping a specific part under secrecy for a limited time to avoid harming pending proceedings, as summarized by Wikipedia and political press.

According to information gathered by El Demócrata, the case is in an active investigation phase: the Court (Instruction Court 9 of the National Court, presided by Pedraz) has ordered the intervention and analysis of Leire Díez's mobile devices and has been partially lifting the secrecy of some parts, including the one related to the alleged maneuver in SEPI. These same reports indicate that the judge is holding the first statements of witnesses and suspects and expanding the investigation into contracts and fund movements linked to the network.

The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard plays a central role in the investigation, with reports suggesting that the “ultimate goal” of the network would be to protect the interests of the Government or its president in various judicial cases, as reported by media cited by Infobae. At the same time, the People's Party (PP) has included this proceeding in its “PSOE corruption map”, emphasizing its political dimension.

2. Other related judicial fronts

Beyond the National Court, there is at least one relevant case in Instruction Court No. 9 of Madrid, where alleged bribes and influence peddling are being investigated to obtain information on sensitive investigations affecting the PSOE. In this proceeding, audios have been played in court in which Leire Díez would present herself as the “right hand” of Santos Cerdán, which the defense has tried to annul alleging violation of fundamental rights. This aspect is reported by El Demócrata, noting that the judge has so far upheld the validity of those recordings.

In parallel, the Civil Guard arrested Leire Díez as part of an operation for irregularities in public contracts linked to SEPI and other public entities, as reported by El Demócrata. These proceedings are coordinated with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and have involved searches in public companies and ministries to gather documentation.

3. Expected upcoming judicial steps

Based on available information, the procedural steps expected in the coming months are:

a) Key statements at the National Court

The statement of Leire Díez before Judge Pedraz is scheduled, along with those of other persons named in the investigation (such as businessmen and journalists cited in the case files), after an initial summons was postponed due to new documentation provided by the Prosecutor's Office, as reported by Wikipedia and media coverage such as El País or eldiario.es.

b) Deepening the financial trail

The UCO has requested to continue proceedings to follow the money trail, with special focus on PSOE accounts, commercial companies, and advertising agencies, according to information collected by Infobae and summarized in the Wikipedia entry. The outcome of these proceedings will be key to determining the existence of crimes such as embezzlement or irregular financing.

c) Resolution of defense appeals

Leire Díez's defense has appealed various proceedings, including broad access to her communications and the inclusion of certain audios, alleging violation of communication secrecy and fundamental rights. The judge must resolve these appeals; his decision will determine which evidence remains valid for a possible formal accusation.

d) Possible transformation of the case or partial dismissal

Once the main investigation phase is concluded (statements, UCO reports, device and financial documentation analysis), Judge Pedraz will have to decide, by order, whether to: (1) convert the case into an abbreviated procedure and forward it to the Prosecutor's Office and accusers to file an accusation brief, opening the way to oral trial; or (2) order total or partial dismissal regarding some suspects or crimes.

4. Parliamentary dimension: Senate Commission

Alongside the judicial path, the “Leire Díez case” also has a political dimension in the Senate. The PP has announced that Leire Díez will appear on September 8 before the Investigation Commission of the “Koldo case”, where she must explain her role in the alleged network linked to the PSOE and Pedro Sánchez's environment, as communicated by the Populars in this note and another later one by Alicia García. This appearance is not part of the criminal process but may influence the political climate and the parties' strategies in court.

The figure of the President of SEPI is mainly regulated by Law 5/1996, of January 10, on the creation of certain public law entities, and by the Order of July 13, 1995, on the organization and functions of the State Society of Industrial Participations. These regulations define that the Presidency is one of the two governing bodies of SEPI, along with the Board of Directors, and concentrate institutional representation and ordinary executive management in it. Additionally, they specify the appointment regime as a senior official of the state public sector and its relationship both with the Board and with the General Courts. No specific regime of responsibility or incompatibilities is observed beyond that which generally corresponds to senior officials.

Basic regulatory framework

The legal framework of the SEPI Presidency rests on two pieces:

1) Law 5/1996, of January 10, on the creation of certain public law entities, which creates the State Society of Industrial Participations and regulates its governing bodies and ministerial attachment (Law 5/1996).

2) Order of July 13, 1995, on the organization and functions of the State Society of Industrial Participations, which develops the functions of the Board of Directors and, in great detail, those of the President (Order of July 13, 1995, with errata correction by BOE-A-1995-17540).

Appointment, dismissal, and institutional position

According to Law 5/1996, the governing bodies of SEPI are the President and the Board of Directors: “The governing bodies of the Society shall be the President and the Board of Directors” (article relating to governing bodies, in its current wording: Law 5/1996).

The same Law establishes that:

• “The President and the Vice President of the Society, who shall have the status of senior officials, shall be appointed by the Government by Royal Decree, at the proposal of the Minister of Finance and Public Administration. Their remuneration, for all concepts, shall be set by the Minister of Finance and Public Administration” (Law 5/1996).
• The Vice President substitutes the President “in cases of vacancy, absence or illness and shall exercise those functions delegated by the President or the Board.”
• The Board of Directors is composed of the President, the Vice President, and up to 14 directors appointed by the Minister of Finance and Public Administration.

The Order of July 13, 1995 specifies that “the President of the State Society is the President of its Board of Directors,” emphasizing his dual role: individual body and head of the collegiate body (Order of July 13, 1995).

Regarding the relationship with the General State Administration, Law 5/1996 establishes that SEPI “shall be attached to the Ministry of Industry and Energy, which shall exercise control over the effectiveness of its activity” (Law 5/1996). Through this attachment and the appointment procedure by the Government, the President is integrated into the core management of the state public business sector.

Functions and powers of the President

The Order of July 13, 1995 exhaustively lists the functions of the President of the State Society (Order of July 13, 1995):

• Permanent representation of SEPI and its Board of Directors “in any acts and contracts and before any natural or legal person, whether public or private, in court and out of court.”
• Call, preside over, and adjourn meetings of the Board of Directors, “directing its deliberations.”
• Approve contracts “up to the limit set by the Board of Directors,” which previously sets “the general contracting rules and the economic limits in the President’s capacity to approve and sign contracts.”
• Manage the services of the State Society and control the development of its activity.
• Ensure compliance with the Order itself and the execution of the Board’s agreements.
• Propose to the Board “the appointment of the State Society’s management personnel.”
• Present to the Board “the operating and capital budgets, as well as the Action, Investment, and Financing Programs of the State Society and, if applicable, of its dependent companies.”
• Arrange expenses and order payments accordingly.
• “Exercise any powers expressly delegated by the Board of Directors.”

Law 5/1996 adds a dimension of relationship with the General Courts: “The President of the State Society of Industrial Participations and those of the companies majority-owned by it shall inform the corresponding Committees of the Congress and the Senate when requested,” and SEPI must send information to the Courts “within the same deadlines as those companies listed on the Stock Exchange are obliged to submit to the National Securities Market Commission” (Law 5/1996).

Relationship with the Board and liability regime

The Board of Directors is the body to which the Order attributes “the administration, direction, and management” of SEPI, with a very broad catalog of competencies (internal organization, participation policy, financial operations, budget approval, etc.), and may “delegate to the President or to one or more directors the functions it deems appropriate” (Order of July 13, 1995). Therefore, the President is the main executor of the Board’s decisions and, at the same time, its representative and leader.

Regarding the liability and incompatibility regime, the cited regulations do not detail specific rules for the President of SEPI, beyond attributing the status of “senior official.” This implies that he or she is subject to the general regime of responsibility, incompatibilities, and control of senior officials of the state public sector, complemented by the parliamentary control described and by the fact that SEPI is governed, in its actions, by private, civil, commercial, and labor law (Law 5/1996).

Belén Gualda González, José Vicente Berlanga, and Rosario (Charo) Arévalo Sánchez share a key trait: all have held high-responsibility positions in the public sector and in companies linked to SEPI, and all three are currently under investigation in the network known as the “Leire Díez case.” Gualda is an engineer from Granada who has developed a predominantly technical career in the Andalusian administration and in state public companies, reaching the presidency of SEPI and previously Navantia. Berlanga is a Valencian socialist leader, a civil servant of the Generalitat, and former president of the public nuclear company Enusa, politically closely linked to José Luis Ábalos’s environment. Charo Arévalo comes from the PSOE of Castilla-La Mancha, was a regional councilor, and then an executive for more than two decades at Enusa, embodying a “revolving door” profile between regional government and public company.

Belén Gualda González: technical profile in infrastructure and state companies

Belén Gualda González (Granada, 1974) is a Civil Engineer specialized in Roads, Canals, and Ports from the University of Granada, with an outstanding grade, and a Senior Technician in Occupational Risk Prevention. Her career has been almost entirely in the Andalusian public sector and the public business sector, especially in infrastructure, water, and environment. In the Andalusian Government, she held positions such as Director General of Transport, Director General of Infrastructure and Water Exploitation, and Secretary General of Environment and Climate Change, as well as Managing Director of the Andalusian Public Works Agency, under PSOE governments.

In October 2020, she was appointed president of Navantia, the large state naval defense construction company, becoming the youngest person to lead the company. In March 2021, she moved to the top of the state public business sector as president of the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI), an entity attached to the Ministry of Finance that groups strategic state stakes in multiple companies. Her appointment was made by the central Government, at the proposal of the Minister of Finance, replacing a president dismissed after being charged in the Aznalcóllar case.

Gualda is described in several sources as a very technical profile, without PSOE membership and with a career supported by her experience in the Andalusian administration and public companies, rather than in party organic positions. However, in June 2026, Judge Santiago Pedraz included her among those investigated in the so-called “Leire Díez network,” regarding alleged contract rigging in the environment of companies dependent on SEPI, which has placed her management under strong media scrutiny (La Razón; judicial profile also noted by El Demócrata).

José Vicente Berlanga: PSPV leader and former president of Enusa

José Vicente Berlanga is a historic leader of Valencian socialism (PSPV-PSOE) and a career civil servant of the Valencian Generalitat. He holds a degree in Philosophy and Education Sciences and has completed training in public management and areas such as Business Intelligence and Big Data. Before his leap to the large state public company, he was director of the Municipal Sports Foundation of Valencia and held positions in bodies such as Bancaixa and the FIVEC foundation, representing the Valencian administration.

In 2018, he was appointed president of Enusa Advanced Industries, a public company in the nuclear fuel cycle majority-owned by SEPI, a position he held until late 2021. From that position, he signed strategic nuclear fuel supply contracts, for example with the Finnish TVO until 2038, and received remuneration exceeding around 200,000 euros gross annually, ranking among the highest salaries in the state public sector. His appointment was interpreted as a trusted designation from José Luis Ábalos’s environment, with whom he maintained a close political relationship.

Organically, Berlanga has been part of the provincial executive of the PSPV in Valencia as Secretary of Political Relations. The judicial investigation into the Leire Díez network led the Valencian PSOE to suspend his membership and demand his resignation from internal positions, after being included by Judge Pedraz among those investigated for alleged irregularities in contracts in the environment of Enusa and other public group entities (Vozpópuli; profile also summarized by El Demócrata).

Rosario (Charo) Arévalo Sánchez: from Castilla-La Mancha government to Enusa management

Rosario “Charo” Arévalo Sánchez is a socialist leader with a long career in administration and PSOE politics in Castilla-La Mancha. She holds a degree in Political Science and Sociology, worked in the cabinet of Health Minister Ángeles Amador in the 1990s, and in bodies of the national health system. At the regional level, she was director general in various areas of the Junta and finally Minister of Environment in José María Barreda’s government.

Her term as minister was marked by the major Guadalajara fire in 2005, in which 11 members of a firefighting crew died. The management of that crisis led to strong criticism and her resignation, and the case had judicial proceedings for years. A few months later, Arévalo joined the public company Enusa, linked to the SEPI group, where she developed a long executive career of more than two decades: she held the Environment management and later corporate management positions until her retirement in 2025. This transition from a high regional office to a senior management position in a strategic public company has been cited as an example of the “revolving door.”

In 2026, Arévalo has also been charged by Judge Pedraz within the framework of the “Leire case,” in the same proceeding affecting Belén Gualda and José Vicente Berlanga, for alleged irregularities in contracts in the environment of Enusa and other public companies (Okdiario; biographical and professional reconstruction completed by El Demócrata). Her profile thus combines regional political career, senior public company executive, and a judicial situation that places her again in the media spotlight.