What happened in the PSOE environment on the dates for which the judge requests the entry records at Ferraz?

The judge of the National Court Santiago Pedraz, who is investigating alleged payments from the PSOE to the network to stop the open cases against the party and the Government, has authorized through the order the action of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard to gather information at the headquarters of the socialists on Ferraz street within the framework of this investigation. Among the requested documentation, the magistrate focuses on requesting the entry register of the PSOE premises corresponding to a period between 2024 and 2025 to know the date and time of the visit, the companions of the visit, and the reason for it of several people investigated in this case.

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Among them are the former Secretary of Organization, Santos Cerdán; the businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, the former president of SEPI Vicente Cecilio Fernández Guerrero, the former PSOE member Leire Díez, or the former vice president of the Andalusian Government, Gaspar Zarrías, also indicted. Other surprising names are former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo or the former Secretary of State for Security with the PP, Francisco Martínez. The list consists of a total of 26 people.

Judge Pedraz points out in his order 36 specific dates between April 2024 and May 2025. Of all of them, he requests to know the entry register at Ferraz. What is significant, beyond the personalities he points to regarding their possible visit to the socialist headquarters, is that these dates coincide with several procedural moments of people linked to the PSOE or related to the Government. To a greater extent, these are dates when there are developments in the case of the former Attorney General of the State, Álvaro García Ortiz; or the cases of Begoña Gómez, wife of the Prime Minister, and David Sánchez, brother of the head of the Executive. In this calendar, there are also several events linked to the Koldo case or the cases against the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Alberto González Amador.

On April 24, 2024, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, surprised with an open letter to the citizens in which he opened a period of reflection on his continuity at the head of the Government after the opening of preliminary proceedings against his wife, Begoña Gómez. The order places that moment as key for the start of the alleged actions of several members related to the PSOE against the cases affecting the socialist environment.

Therefore, the first date on which Judge Pedraz focuses to know who was at Ferraz is April 26, 2024, two days after the letter from the head of the Executive and one day before the Federal Committee supporting Sánchez. That same day, the far-right association Hazte Oír filed a complaint for influence peddling against Begoña Gómez.

The second is May 6 of the same year. That same day coincides with the appearance of the former Minister of Transport, José Luis Ábalos, before the investigation commission of the Koldo case in the Senate. The third is April 8, when the then Attorney General of the State challenged four Supreme Court magistrates who had to decide on his continuity at the head of the public ministry.

Another significant date is May 29, one day before the final approval of the Amnesty law. There were developments in the case of Begoña Gómez, since the Madrid Court supported the investigation – although with limits – and the European Prosecutor’s Office requested files linked to the case.

The month of June also draws the attention of Santiago Pedraz. He requests information from the registers of up to five dates. In that month, Judge Peinado opened new lines of investigation against Pedro Sánchez’s wife (June 17) and she was summoned (June 5). On the 25th, also pointed out by the National Court judge, the agreement between the PSOE and the PP to renew the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) took place.

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The marked dates are the 2nd, 11th, 30th, and 31st. On the 11th, the UCO ruled out irregularities in Begoña Gómez’s chair and also saw no signs of crime by the Prime Minister’s wife in the Air Europa bailout. In fact, they concluded that she did not influence it. On the 30th, the Prime Minister filed a complaint against Judge Juan Carlos Peinado for prevarication.

After the summer holidays, the various judicial cases evolved. Specifically, on October 23, the judge asked the Supreme Court to investigate Ábalos. That date is of interest to Pedraz. On that same day, Begoña Gómez’s complaint against Judge Peinado was dismissed, and Sánchez spoke out about the information affecting the former Minister of Transport.

November 27 is also included in this information request. That day, the summons of David Sánchez, the Prime Minister’s brother, as an investigated party for alleged irregularities in his hiring at the Badajoz Provincial Council was agreed. The former Secretary General of PSOE-M, Juan Lobato, also resigned; and a few days earlier, businessman Víctor de Aldama had been released from prison after handing over documentation about the Koldo case.

From January, Pedraz highlights the 22nd. That day, the Congress accepted the Supreme Court’s request to prosecute José Luis Ábalos. Also, in another case, this judicial instance also agreed that day to investigate the deletion of Álvaro García Ortiz’s mobile phone. Throughout February, one of the news items was related to Aldama’s accusations against the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, who appeared to defend himself against them.

Regarding March, information is requested about visits to Ferraz on the 20th. On that date, a UCO report on some actions of Ábalos had been made public just a few hours earlier. There was controversy over an error in that document about a chalet acquired in Colombia by the former PSOE Secretary of Organization.