Pano tells judge Koldo's lawyer offered €250,000 from 'party people' to deny Ferraz cash delivery
Carmen Pano testified that Leticia de la Hoz, lawyer of convicted ex-ministerial aide Koldo García, offered her €250,000 to retract statements about delivering 90,000 euros in cash to the Socialist Party's headquarters. Her driver Álvaro Gallego confirmed the episode.
Carmen Pano, the businesswoman who says she handed over 90,000 euros in two instalments at the PSOE's Ferraz Street offices, appeared this Monday before National Court judge Santiago Pedraz. During 50 minutes of testimony in the so-called Leire case, she insisted that the lawyer of Koldo García tried to buy her silence. Her account aligns with earlier statements made to the Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit (UCO).
The bribe offer
Pano described three or four meetings with Leticia de la Hoz, Koldo's legal representative. She said the total sum on the table was €250,000, to be broken down as: 25,000 euros for her daughter Leonor's wedding, monthly rent payments of 2,500–2,800 euros over five to seven years, and 15,000 euros for her driver to buy a car. The objective, she explained, was to have her deny before a court that she had delivered the cash, to blame middleman Víctor de Aldama, and to exonerate former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and Koldo.
- Wedding gift
- 25000 €
- Car purchase
- 15000 €
- Rent payments (5-7 years)
- 210000 €
According to Pano's account, De la Hoz indicated the money was coming from people within the PSOE.
The offer came from people in the party.
Driver confirms
Álvaro Gallego, who drove Pano to the Socialist headquarters on at least one occasion, backed her version. He told the judge that he was offered €15,000 to help change his car, and that he and Pano discussed whether to accept.
Gallego added that they ultimately rejected the deal on the advice of Pano's lawyer, former judge Javier Gómez Bermúdez, and because they were unsure about the origin of the funds.If Leticia de la Hoz and those offering the money had been quicker, maybe we would have accepted.
The lawyer's denial
Leticia de la Hoz denies any bribery. She maintains that her meetings with Pano were about a business transaction involving a hydrocarbon operator and that WhatsApp messages support her account. She also states that at the time of the alleged bribe, in February 2025, she was not yet defending Koldo.
The broader Leire affair
The investigation led by Judge Pedraz targets an alleged criminal network inside the PSOE that tried to sabotage judicial proceedings affecting the party or the government. Court documents cite former organisation secretary Santos Cerdán and former party activist Leire Díez as central figures. Pano's testimony is one of several being taken this week; other witnesses have denied any link to the plot.
