Spain’s Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) is facing renewed scrutiny as explosive testimonies from investigators, revelations from former PSOE MP Santos Cerdán, allegations of systemic sexism and corruption rock Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party.
The scandals, which have already caused the downfall of several high-profile figures, increasingly threaten to implicate Sánchez directly, with new evidence suggesting his knowledge and possible involvement in covering up wrongdoing.
Yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Balas and Commander Montes, leading the Guardia Civil’s economic crime unit, delivered a devastating blow to the defences of former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his aide Koldo García.
This case is known as the Koldo case, a series of corruption scandals beginning with the Spanish Government’s purchase of Covid-19 masks.
In a marathon session at the Supreme Court, Balas and Montes methodically dismantled the alibis of the alleged “criminal duo”, presenting evidence that suggested Ábalos and García operated as part of a sophisticated kickback scheme.
A network, led by businessman Víctor de Aldama, allegedly funnelled monthly bribes to Ábalos and García in exchange for their co-operation in awarding lucrative public contracts.
Balas testified that the group had “access to the highest echelons of power”, including Sánchez and his cabinet and that the scheme was so entrenched it extended to multiple ministries.
Commander Montes reinforced Balas’ findings, particularly in demonstrating the hierarchical structure of the alleged corruption network and direct involvement of Ábalos in orchestrating the kickbacks
Balas testified that the group had “access to the highest echelons of power”, including Sánchez and his cabinet and that the scheme was so entrenched it extended to multiple ministries.
Their testimony also alleged sexist underpinnings of the operation, with Ábalos and García using public funds to pay for luxuries for their mistresses — including flowers, iPhones, and even a luxury apartment — while women within the party were sidelined or silenced.
Leaked audios and UCO reports earlier revealed highly derogatory language about women, references to prostitutes paid with public/funds, and “casting” discussions allegedly involving Ábalos, Koldo, and references to Cerdán’s circle.
Adding to this testimony was the publication of a new book by journalist Ketty Garat, Todos los hombres de Sánchez (All Sánchez’s Men), which paints a damning portrait of Cerdán, Sánchez’s former right-hand man and the party’s ex-organisation secretary.
Cerdán is being held on charges of bribery, criminal organisation and influence peddling connected to the Koldo case
Garat describes Cerdán not as a whistleblower but as an “emissary”, a figure allegedly sent to manipulate the narrative, conceal evidence and protect Sánchez from the fallout of the corruption scandals.
According to Garat, Cerdán initially appeared to want to clean up the party but instead allegedly worked to bury evidence and discredit investigators.
His betrayal of Ábalos — leaking details appearing to show the ex-minister’s lavish spending on prostitutes and luxury parties — was a calculated move to shift attention away from the broader corruption network and on to Ábalos’ personal conduct.
Garat alleged: “Pedro Sánchez knew everything,” and described Cerdán as his instrument for controlling the damage.
Garat went on to expose allleged problematic sexism within the PSOE’s ranks and revealed that female party members who raised concerns about the “clan of machirulos” (a group that included Ábalos, Cerdán and Koldo) were systematically sidelined or purged.
Rebeca Torró, the current Organisation Secretary and other senior women were excluded from key decisions, while the party’s leadership closed ranks around the men at the centre of the scandal.
Newly leaked messages and testimony, published on March 28 in news outlet The Objective, appear to show that Sánchez was not only aware of the corruption but furious at those who threatened to expose it.
In a private conversation with Cerdán in May 2021, Sánchez allegedly raged: “Jose [Ábalos] has betrayed us. I’m going to fuck him over,” after Ábalos’ extravagant spending and ties to prostitutes risked bringing down the government.
Sánchez’s own actions suggest to some a deeper complicity.
He dined with Cerdán and his wife just weeks before the scandal broke and his government offered Ábalos a soft landing, including a promise of protection if he remained silent.
The Prime Minister’s public denials of knowledge now ring hollow to many, especially as Koldo García has threatened to release messages allegedly implicating Sánchez and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the scheme.
Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a Socialist, is facing intense criticism over his close association with Venezuela’s authoritarian left-wing Maduro regime. https://t.co/QshD1NBIZ7
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In. addition, Mario Rivas, the PSOE Mayor of Villablino (León), is under investigation for alleged influence peddling after using municipal resources to commission promotional signs for his family’s cattle farm.
Despite the charges, Rivas was elected as a regional MP, granting him legal immunity and delaying his court appearance.
The PSOE not only retained him as a candidate but celebrated his inclusion on the party list as a “historic opportunity” for the region, further undermining public trust in the party’s commitment to ethical governance.
It appears that the PSOE used legal privileges to shield its members from accountability.
Rubén Rivas, the brother of Mario, is also implicated in this scandal, having admitted to paying for the signs before later claiming the money came from Mario.
The Mayor’s refusal to apply the municipality’s own anti-fraud protocols to his own conduct has only deepened public outrage.
A Spanish investigating judge has formally charged Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
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PSOE and Pedro Sánchez have consistently maintained a strategy of distancing themselves from the implicated figures while denying any personal or party-level knowledge of corruption.
They frame the scandals as individual betrayals and emphasise that the party acted decisively once evidence emerged.
At the start of the Ábalos trial in early April, government spokeswoman Elma Saiz said, “If trust is broken, that is when it is necessary to act. The PSOE did.”
PSEO spokesperson Montse Mínguez, said at the time, when Koldo García’s brother claimed he went to Ferraz headquarters twice to collect envelopes,”We are clean.” “We are not discovering anything new”.
There have been no formal charges filed against Sánchez or the party leadership as a whole.
