The group formed in April 2024 to disrupt judicial processes – and those who led them – with little success consisted of nine people, although not all with the same role. There may be more, but now, Judge Santiago Pedraz limits it to them, assigning them the roles of leader, his second-in-command, financiers, and executors. All of them have been caught, as always happens, by new facts that have appeared in another case. Now they will have to give explanations. Who are they, what links them, what drives them?
Read more Siri Hustvedt: “I felt Paul’s presence at his funeral, he was looking at me, making sure I was okay”
SANTOS CERDÁN
The former secretary of organization of the PSOE – Pedro Sánchez’s right-hand man until June 2025 – is the head of the plot, according to the judge. This socialist took the reins of the party when José Luis Ábalos was dismissed. Cerdán negotiated the amnesty of the independence leaders for the investiture of the Prime Minister in 2023. All his power vanished when the Supreme Court judge investigating Ábalos for corruption pointed to him as the leader of that plot. There were audios and other evidence placing him in the management and distribution of kickbacks in exchange for public works contracts facilitated by the Ministry of Transport. Cerdán was linked to Leire Díez, an anonymous party member who gained relevance after her alleged dealings in favor of the PSOE as a “plumber.” All denied it. However, Díez’s involvement in another corruption case linked to SEPI has shed light on other schemes. Cerdán and Díez did know each other. And it was the then secretary of organization who gave the order, according to Pedraz, to save Sánchez and his family from judicial scandals.
LEIRE DÍEZ
She is the recipient of the assignment and second in the hierarchy. “I’m urgently going to Madrid. Santos sent me. We have information that would help the president.” That message from April 2024 was the starting point to begin the arrangements. According to the judge, Díez sought dirt on the Anti-Corruption prosecutor José Grinda, even offering him money in exchange for information that could affect his boss, Alejandro Luzón. She promoted the use of the term “patriotic UCO” in the media and tried to go against the head of this unit, Antonio Balas. She also promoted complaints and actions against Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who investigates the president’s wife, and against Beatriz Biedma, in charge of the case against David Sánchez. Cerdán arranged for her to be placed within SEPI or Correos. Her version that she was merely a journalist doing investigative work on the State’s sewers has fallen apart.
JAVIER PÉREZ DOLSET
A businessman who was once imprisoned by order of prosecutor Grinda. He has been trying for years to annul his case in the National Court. He himself has acknowledged having access to documents from the Villarejo case and it is now known that they were used to try to attack judges, prosecutors, or members of the security forces. His interest is not to save the PSOE or the Government but “particular interests,” says Pedraz.
VICENTE FERNÁNDEZ
Former president of SEPI. He had to resign due to an indictment in an Andalusian corruption case. The order states that it was Cerdán who had promoted his appointment. When he had to step down, a friend of Cerdán, alleged partner and indicted in both the SEPI and Masks cases, Antxón Alonso, hired him in his company. According to Pedraz, he was aware of and participated in destabilizing judicial investigations.
ANA MARÍA FUENTES
The current manager of the PSOE would be an accomplice in the crimes under investigation, although Pedraz focuses on her alleged responsibility in the creation of false invoices to break the traceability of the money. The judge has ordered the dumping of all her emails. Fuentes, who was part of the group that took over the interim secretary of organization of the PSOE after Cerdán’s fall, testified in the Masks case trial.
Read more Enrique Riquelme: “Florentino’s Super League was a fairy tale, a joke”
JACOBO TEIJELO
Cerdán’s lawyer. Previously, he participated in meetings to collaborate in the search for compromising information. According to the judge, he helped Díez invoice the PSOE through front companies. He led the defense of the former secretary of organization to point to lawfare for his indictment and imprisonment.
ISMAEL OLIVER
Another lawyer. Of Koldo García, former advisor to Ábalos. Also of El Pollo Carvajal. The instructor identifies him as the owner of shell companies to transfer PSOE payments to Díez. He participated in pressuring businesswoman Carmen Pano to deny having carried bags of money to Ferraz.
GASPAR ZARRÍAS
The vice president of the Andalusian Government with Manuel Chaves was one of those convicted in the ERE case. Zarrías suspects that behind that investigation was the shady former commissioner Villarejo and hired Díez to investigate it. The 4,000 euros that Cerdán allegedly agreed to pay the plumber would have been channeled through a company lent by Zarrías. Pedraz places him in the core to “destabilize” judicial processes.
JUAN SÁNCHEZ YEPES
Captain of the Civil Guard who was part of the UCO. The magistrate has gathered evidence placing him revealing secrets about investigators of the cases cornering the PSOE. Investigated in the Hydrocarbons case in the Court, he is also indicted for actions against State institutions.
Read more The teachers’ strike affects traffic again: closures on the C-32 and delays in both directions
