The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Guardia Civil has appeared this Thursday before the Court of Auditors to obtain information related to the donations received by the PSOE between 2017 and 2024. The proceeding, ordered by the judge of the National High Court Ismael Moreno, is part of the investigation he leads under court secrecy into a alleged irregular financing of the party.
The investigators have detected discrepancies between the amounts that appear in the documentation provided by the PSOE, the data provided by banking entities, and the information sent to theCourt of Auditors. The aim of the action is to clarify the origin of those discrepancies and to complete the documentation that is already in the magistrate’s possession.
The agents have gone to the auditing body in the presence of a lawyer for the Administration of Justice of the National High Court. In addition to requesting new documents, they intend to obtain clarifications about part of the information previously sent to the court, which the investigators consider incomplete.
Donations to the PSOE, under judicial investigation
The action this Thursday gives continuity to the proceedings agreed by Ismael Moreno before summer, when he requested from the Court of Auditors the accounting records submitted by the PSOE for its review, including the economic contributions received by the party.
The magistrate is trying to contrast that information with bank movements and the documentation provided by the party to determine whether there are any operations that could be related to a alleged irregular financing.
One of the hypotheses being investigated is the possible use of small donations, a practice known as "pitufeo", to introduce funds of irregular origin into the party’s accounting. The inquiries also examine whether certain contributions could have been used to conceal payments linked to the awarding of public works contracts.
For the moment, the accounting discrepancies described do not, by themselves, establish the existence of illegal financing. The investigation is precisely intended to determine the origin of the differences detected and whether any of the operations examined has criminal relevance.
An investigation that stems from the Koldo case
The case was opened following investigations into cash payments to José Luis Ábalos and his former adviser Koldo García. The Supreme Court judge Leopoldo Puente referred to the National Court the evidence he considered unrelated to his main investigation, which led to a separate piece that continues under secrecy.
The PSOE has previously defended that the payments made to its officials were justified and recorded, and has denied the existence of illegal financing.
The EFE agency has confirmed, citing sources close to the investigation, that agents are seeking to clarify discrepancies in the documentation. Vozpópuli specifies that part of the request affects donations corresponding to 2017, the year in which Pedro Sánchez regained the PSOE General Secretariat.