The Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard maintains in a report that the incorporation of former socialist militant Leire Díez into Correos would have been channeled "apparently" through Juan Manuel Serrano, former president of the public company and former chief of staff of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. According to the agents, said hiring would have been considered a "strategic" matter within the alleged scheme of irregularities in public contract awards.
The document, sent to the National High Court judge Santiago Pedraz, is part of the investigation into alleged rigging of contracts by the Sociedad Española de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI). In these investigations, Díez, the former president of the entity Vicente Fernández, and the businessman Antxon Alonso, the latter related to the former Organization Secretary of the PSOE Santos Cerdán, are pointed out.
According to the UCO's investigations, "Díez's positioning in a Correos position would have been directly handled by Fernández with Serrano," a fact deduced from a conversation between the two dated May 2021. In these exchanges, Fernández addresses Serrano to inquire about the progress of the arrangements for Díez's future position in the public company.
"What we talked about regarding Leire, could we get it started?" Fernández asked Serrano, according to the messages incorporated into the case, adding: "I had thought that, since after the reorganization, Tote is in charge of institutional matters in the territories, she could be assigned to work with him. Does that sound good to you?"
The report states that Serrano replied to the communications from the former SEPI president with a brief "Ok, we'll talk." From then on, the investigators also included a message from Díez to Fernández in which she asks if "Juanma has responded." "Yes, he told me 'ok, we'll talk'. Don't worry, yours will come through," Fernández replied, according to the analyzed documentation.
The agents identify "Tote" as "José Luis Pérez, deputy secretary of Correos," who "would have held previous positions in the Junta de Andalucía, an area where he could have met" Vicente Fernández. The UCO emphasizes this prior connection as the possible origin of the link between the two within the framework of the alleged maneuvers to place Díez in the company.
Days later, the investigators located new communications in the group chat "Hirurok" —in which Díez, Fernández, and Alonso participated—. From these exchanges, it is clear that Fernández "would have received confirmation from Serrano that Leire was going to be hired by Correos to be with her friend Tote in the institutional area".
In that context, Fernández states that the operation is "good for everyone", which, in the UCO's opinion, shows that "Díez's positioning in a public office, in this case apparently through Serrano, was a strategic matter for 'Hirurok'". For the investigators, these elements reinforce the thesis that Díez's hiring was part of a larger plan within the alleged scheme of irregular contracts.