Madrid judge transfers 'caso Leire Díez' PSOE dirty-tricks investigation to Audiencia Nacional

Transfer of the case

Judge Arturo Zamarriego of Madrid's Instruction Court No. 9 has agreed to transfer the entire "caso Leire Díez" to the Audiencia Nacional, where judge Santiago Pedraz of the Central Instruction Court No. 5 will now conduct the investigation alone. In a ruling dated Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Zamarriego accepted the inhibition request Pedraz had repeatedly promoted, unifying both investigations under a single cause. The Prosecutor's Office supported the merger, arguing that all evidence shows the proceedings bear identity with each other and that Pedraz's case covers broader facts, more investigated persons, and a more serious legal classification, including criminal organization, as opposed to the bribery and influence peddling Zamarriego alone was pursuing.

Origins of the investigation

Zamarriego opened his inquiry on July 24, 2025, following a complaint by the association Hazte Oír. The complaint stemmed from a meeting in which Leire Díez allegedly offered favorable treatment to businessman Alejandro Hamlyn, investigated for hydrocarbon fraud, in exchange for information. The case gained traction when prosecutors Ignacio Stampa and José Grinda filed complaints. Stampa reported that on April 30, 2025, a trusted contact told him the government wanted to meet. On May 7, he attended a meeting where, instead of PSOE organization secretary Santos Cerdán as promised, a woman identifying herself as Leire appeared. Stampa recorded the encounter.

“A person of my trust conveyed to me the interest of the Government of the Nation in contacting me.”

The recorded meeting

During the meeting, Díez described herself as the person the PSOE had designated to look into alleged irregularities in judicial investigations affecting the party.

“I am a right hand that will never appear.”

Zamarriego had scheduled a procedure for August 20, 2026, to have police analyze the recording to rule out manipulation, as both Díez and businessman Javier Pérez Dolset claimed the audio could have been altered. That procedure has been cancelled as part of the transfer.

Parallel investigation and arrests

While Zamarriego's inquiry progressed, Pedraz launched his own investigation in late 2025, arresting Díez and former SEPI president Vicente Fernández in December 2025. That case remained under summary secrecy until June 1, 2026. UCO (Guardia Civil Central Operational Unit) reports sent to the Audiencia Nacional in the parallel investigation reportedly went further than Zamarriego's findings. El Confidencial reported that Zamarriego never saw reason to escalate the case to affect PSOE leadership or Cerdán, whom he protected even from prosecution questions during his testimony as a witness, asking the accusations to be "especially careful" with the former PSOE leader.

Imputed persons and pending questions

Zamarriego had imputed Díez, Pérez Dolset, and journalist Pere Rusiñol for their alleged participation in a coordinated plot to gather compromising or irregular information on UCO and Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office officers. The judge saw indications they sought to annul or squander judicial investigations in relevant cases affecting politicians and businessmen. Lawyer Jacobo Teijelo never testified because Zamarriego never determined whether he should do so as an imputed party or a witness. All pending proceedings now fall to Pedraz.