PP seeks criminal indictment of PSOE as snap election pauses judicial actions in Spain

Opposition petition at the National Court

On the morning of 6 October 2026, the Partido Popular filed a legal submission at the National Court requesting the formal indictment of the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The opposition party asked magistrate Santiago Pedraz to investigate the PSOE as a legal entity for bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, money laundering, and illegal financing. The filing followed Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's announcement dissolving the Cortes Generales and scheduling snap general elections for 29 November 2026. Leadership figures at the Partido Popular argued that the early election call was intended to halt court inquiries into the party, pointing to actions undertaken by party leadership following Sánchez's five-day reflection period.

Judicial restraint and campaign protocols

Judicial authorities at the National Court indicated that procedural steps carrying political consequences will be deferred until after voters cast their ballots on 29 November. Anti-Corruption prosecutors concluded that sufficient grounds exist to investigate the PSOE following testimony from party manager Ana María Fuentes, who placed responsibility on former Organization Secretary Santos Cerdán for payments to covert operatives. However, prosecutors confirmed that formal summonses for Cerdán, former affiliate Leire Díez, and PSOE legal director Alberto Cachinero will not occur before the vote. One scheduled proceeding will proceed on Thursday, when magistrate Beatriz Biedma testifies about intimidation efforts by a Badajoz drug trafficking network linked to Díez.

We will keep moving forward, except for proceedings that have a very direct impact on the elections.

Parallel inquiries into party finances

Simultaneously, magistrate Ismael Moreno continues to direct a secret investigation into alleged irregular financing and money laundering within the PSOE. Opened in December 2025 at the direction of the Supreme Court, the inquiry examines cash discrepancies identified by the Guardia Civil in the party paymaster office. The National Court instructed the PSOE to submit all cash payment logs and donation records from 2017 to 2024, while requesting audited donation accounts from the Court of Auditors to inspect potential smurfing methods. Businessman Víctor de Aldama provided investigators with a 15 million euro fictitious contract and records of Venezuelan oil advances, testifying that cash was handed to Koldo García to cover party expenses. These proceedings build on the Supreme Court ruling in June 2026 that sentenced Aldama, former minister José Luis Ábalos, and García to prison.

Collapse of Senate parliamentary inquiries

The dissolution of parliament ended multiple legislative investigations led by the Partido Popular absolute majority in the Senate. Following the July 2023 general election, the Senate established seven investigative commissions, concluding two regarding the CIS polling institute and the power blackout earlier in the term. The snap election call for 29 November caused the remaining five active commissions to lapse, ending hearings on the Koldo affair, the Adamuz rail accident, state holding corporation SEPI, the Valencia DANA floods, and public broadcaster TVE. A planned vote to open an investigation into the Ceuta crisis was cancelled, halting inquiries that previously featured testimony from Pedro Sánchez in October 2025 and led to the May 2026 indictment of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over the 53 million euro Plus Ultra airline rescue.