Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the right-wing party Vox for alleged “irregular financing”.
The move came following a complaint by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) alleging that Vox fraudulently secured millions in loans.
The investigation opened on March 10 followed a complaint filed in December 2024.
The left-wing party alleged that Vox may have engaged in illegal political financing under Article 304 bis of the Spanish Penal Code.
According to the PSOE, since at least 2020, Vox has placed cash boxes at its information desks across Spain, alongside merchandise sales, to collect donations in cash.
Another element highlighted by the Socialists was foreign funding.
According to the PSOE, a €6.5 million loan was allegedly given by Hungary’s MBH Bank Nyrt, a financial institution linked to that country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.
The left-wing party argued that breached Spanish laws banning political parties from receiving foreign state-backed funds.
The Law on Party Financing prohibits donations from the same person exceeding €50,000 per year and establishes that those exceeding €25,000 must be notified to the Court of Auditors within three months of their acceptance.
For its part, Vox had already admitted receiving financial support from Hungary for the year 2023.
The party previously admitted in September 2024 to Spanish national newspaper El País that the Hungarian bank loaned it €9.2 million to bankroll its 2023 campaign, justifying the move by saying no Spanish bank would lend to the party.
Similar to the right-wing National Rally party’s struggles in France, where de facto leader Marine Le Pen had to rely on Russian loans for the party after being blacklisted by French banks.
At a press conference on March 10, Vox’s national spokesperson José Antonio Fúster dismissed the accusations, insisting that “the party’s accounts are clear and transparent” and that Vox “has nothing to hide”.
He did not refer to the loan from the Hungarian bank linked to Orbán for the 2023 elections that also appeared in the Socialists’ complaint.
During the press conference, Vox also accused the PSOE of being “rotten with corruption”.
The PSOE has been involved in numerous corruption scandals, including the “Koldo case”, the “Begoña Gómez case” and allegations involving Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s brother.
Right-wing campaign organisation Manos Limpias filed the legal complaints that triggered two probes against Sanchez’s brother and wife.
"If I have to testify, I will!" — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said he is prepared to give evidence in the opposition-dominated Senate about his wife’s alleged involvement in a corruption scandal. https://t.co/8rKs2M76E0
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 5, 2024
