Spanish police report reveals PSOE routed election funds to outlet for Villarejo audio files

Testimonies reveal campaign billing scheme

A new Civil Guard Central Operative Unit (UCO) report delivered to National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz states that the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) directed payments to digital outlet Crónica Libre using campaign advertising funds. The findings stem from the testimony of Mónica Hurtado de Mendoza, account director at advertising agency IKI Group, who testified before investigators on 8 July. Hurtado de Mendoza stated that party officials instructed her agency to route campaign funds to the small digital outlet during the June 2024 European Parliament elections, in which Teresa Ribera ran as the lead candidate. Out of a total €595,000 electoral advertising budget managed by IKI Group, PSOE allocated €20,000 specifically to Crónica Libre. The agency ultimately paid €18,126 including tax to the outlet, despite internal concerns that the platform lacked the audience reach and technical capacity to justify such amounts.

The sauna recordings and agency warnings

Judicial investigators state that the advertising payments served as compensation for audio recordings provided to PSOE headquarters by journalist Patricia López. The material, originally gathered by retired police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, documented sauna businesses associated with the father of Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. López delivered the files to PSOE officials in May 2024, following a five-day period during which Sánchez publicly considered resigning from office. Contacts between the party and IKI Group were handled by Meritxell Blasco, an aide to then-PSOE communications director Ion Antolín. When asked about increasing the outlet's budget during the European election drive, Hurtado de Mendoza explained to investigators why the transaction raised concerns within her agency.

This decision was not justified because this outlet was already saturated and at the limit of its possibilities, lacking the capacity to take on additional advertising.

Hurtado de Mendoza noted that Crónica Libre never provided audience data, estimates, or verification reports to prove the impact of the ads. Former communications chief Ion Antolín instructed the agency to process the invoices from the digital site despite the lack of metrics. The investigation also ties the operations to Leire Díez and businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, who previously submitted a 64-gigabyte flash drive of Villarejo files to judicial authorities in 2022. IKI Group was subsequently retained for other events, including the Madrid regional campaign and the 41st PSOE Federal Congress held in Seville in December 2024.

European prosecutor inquiries and judicial jurisdiction

The financial maneuvers prompted the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) to submit an official inquiry to the Civil Guard on 7 July to determine whether European Union subsidies were misused. The inquiry followed a formal citizen complaint submitted by Julio Montesino Torres, a 27-year-old resident of Pamplona born in New York, who requested an evaluation of whether EU funds were affected by the Leire Díez network. After the Civil Guard consulted the National Court on how to address the request, Judge Santiago Pedraz instructed the UCO to notify European prosecutors that his court holds primary jurisdiction over the case. Pedraz confirmed that his tribunal is actively examining the allegations and ordered that any future petitions from European prosecutors must be submitted directly to Central Instruction Court Number 5 rather than to police investigators.