Spanish police enter ruling party HQ in corruption probe
Members of the media stand outside the headquarters of the Socialist Party, as Spanish police carry out a search inside as part of a graft case involving senior party members, in Madrid, Spain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Law enforcement members of Central Operative Unit (UCO) leave with bags, outside the Socialist Party headquarters, during a search as part of a graft case involving senior party members, in Madrid, Spain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Members of the media surround a car, after law enforcement members of Central Operative Unit (UCO) got into the car, outside the Socialist Party headquarters, during a search as part of a graft case involving senior party members, in Madrid, Spain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Albert Gea
A general view of the Socialist Party headquarters, as Spanish police carry out a search inside as part of a graft case involving senior party members, in Madrid, Spain, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Albert Gea
MADRID - Spanish police entered the headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party on Friday to copy the emails of ex-senior party official Santos Cerdan, whose resignation amid a widening graft probe last week triggered a severe political crisis.
Judge Leopoldo Puente, who is investigating allegations against Cerdan and former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, had ordered that the party let the plainclothes officers access its premises, although the Guardia Civil police and government officials said the move did not amount to a raid or searches.
Government spokesperson Pilar Alegria and Transport Minister Oscar Puente also confirmed a similar visit to the ministry's roads department.
The resignation of Cerdan, a close ally of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, on June 12, and subsequent revelations of potential misconduct, have destabilised the minority governing coalition.
Sanchez has apologised publicly but rejected the opposition's calls for his resignation. In a tense grilling in parliament on Wednesday, he declined to say whether his name could crop up in the investigation.
The Cerdan case is the latest and most severe of a series of scandals that has left Sanchez having to fend off calls from opponents for snap elections.
Cerdan resigned from his seat in parliament and his post in the Socialist Party after a police report was sent to the judge.
The report, seen by Reuters, provided transcripts of recordings of Cerdan, Abalos and the latter's former assistant Koldo Garcia discussing alleged kickbacks.
Cerdan "appeared to be the person in charge of taking those alleged payments," the police wrote in the report. He has publicly denied any wrongdoing.
The judge also asked the police to pore over bank accounts held by Cerdan, companies which allegedly paid bribes and five entrepreneurs. Around 500 bank accounts will be analysed, according to the writ.
He also ordered state-owned railway infrastructure operator Adif and the transport ministry's roads department to hand over files over public works that were questioned in a preliminary police report.
Abalos and Garcia will testify before the judge next week, while Cerdan will appear on June 30. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
8 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Ex-assistant to Sean ‘Diddy' Combs says job included buying drugs, setting up sex parties
Sean "Diddy" Combs listening in a court sketch, as Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik questions Combs' former personal assistant, Brendan Paul, on June 20. PHOTO: REUTERS Ex-assistant to Sean 'Diddy' Combs says job included buying drugs, setting up sex parties NEW YORK - Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former personal assistant testified on June 20 at the hip-hop mogul's sex trafficking trial that he often bought drugs for his boss and set up hotel rooms for sex parties known as 'wild king nights.' Prosecutors hope the testimony by Brendan Paul, who worked for Combs from late 2022 through March 2024, will help them prove their racketeering conspiracy charge against Combs. Prosecutors say Combs used his businesses' resources to coerce women into ecstasy-fuelled sexual performances with male sex workers. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all five criminal counts. His lawyers call the sexual activity consensual. The Bad Boy Records founder, a former billionaire who elevated hip-hop in American culture, could face life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors are winding down their case after six weeks, with defense witnesses expected to testify next week. Paul, testifying under immunity from prosecutors, said he bought Combs about US$4,200 (S$5,400) of marijuana and hundreds of dollars of ketamine during his employment. Jurors saw a text message in which Paul asked Combs' security staff to be reimbursed for his drug purchases. They also saw a Feb 14, 2024 text message in which Combs wrote 'You get me zans,' which Paul said was a request to procure Xanax without a prescription. Paul said Combs ultimately obtained Xanax elsewhere, and used cocaine and ecstasy in his presence. Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Brian Steel, Paul said procuring drugs was a minor part of his job, and he thought the drugs were solely for Combs' personal use. 'You were not some drug mule?' Steel asked. 'Absolutely not,' Paul said. Brendan Paul, former assistant of Sean 'Diddy' Combs, leaving court after testifying, on June 20. PHOTO: REUTERS Paul also said that before three or four 'wild king nights,' he stocked hotel rooms with lubricant, baby oil, liquor and a Gucci pouch filled with hard drugs. When Combs was done, Paul said he would put on gloves and clean up to avoid being billed by hotels for damage. Paul said he was charged with cocaine possession after being arrested on March 25, 2024, at Miami-Opa Locka airport in Florida while travelling to the Bahamas with Combs and other staffers. He said he put the cocaine in his bag after finding it while cleaning Combs' room that day, but forgot about it and did not tell law enforcement where it came from. Asked by prosecutor Christy Slavik why he kept silent, Paul said, 'Loyalty.' Paul said the cocaine charge was dropped. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
12 minutes ago
- Straits Times
North Carolina resident killed in Puerto Rico for flashy jewelry
SAN JUAN - A North Carolina resident vacationing with his family in Puerto Rico was killed overnight in a robbery, leaving him stripped of the luxury jewelry he was wearing, police said on Friday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Noa Joshua Ameson, 38, was on vacation in Manati, to the west of capital San Juan. Police told Reuters the beachside neighborhood where the incident took place is usually quiet and robberies of this nature are uncommon, marking a rare outbreak of violence in the area. CONTEXT Ameson and his family were returning to the vacation home they were renting when armed, masked attackers intercepted them, Axel Valencia, spokesperson for the Puerto Rico police, told Reuters. Valencia added that Ameson may have tried to fight back when one of the attackers shot him. He was taken to hospital, where he died. WHAT'S NEXT Police are working to obtain security footage and to identify a vehicle which the attackers may have escaped in, Valencia added. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Putin says 'the whole of Ukraine is ours' in theory, may take city of Sumy
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov Putin says 'the whole of Ukraine is ours' in theory, may take city of Sumy ST PETERSBURG - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russians and Ukrainians were one people, "and in that sense the whole of Ukraine is ours," and said he did not rule out Russia taking control of the Ukrainian city of Sumy. But Putin, speaking at an international economic forum in St Petersburg, said Russia had never doubted Ukraine's right to sovereignty, but noted that when Ukraine declared its independence in 1991 it was as a "neutral state". Putin, who says Russia is fighting in Ukraine to protect its own security, was answering a question about Russia's war aims. "We have a saying, or a parable," Putin said. "Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours." Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea as illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Putin said Russian forces were carving out a buffer zone in Ukraine's Sumy region in order to protect Russian territory and said he did not rule out those same troops taking control of the regional capital of Sumy. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
