A former close aide to a top Spanish Socialist party official and a previous head of the state-owned holding company SEPI have been detained as part of a widening corruption investigation amidst heightened scrutiny of government contracting. Leire Díez and Vicente Fernández are being investigated for alleged crimes including fraud and embezzlement, as prosecutors examine potential abuses of power tied to public works projects. The detentions come as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government faces increasing political pressure and opposition criticism over a series of ethical concerns. The unfolding scandal has prompted an apology from Sánchez, while opposition parties are demanding further accountability.
Leire Díez, a former PSOE party member and councilwoman, and Vicente Fernández, the former president of SEPI (Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales), were detained Wednesday by agents from the Guardia Civil’s Central Operative Unit. The arrests are part of an investigation into public contracting, led by Judge Antonio Piña of the National Court’s Central Investigating Court No. 6. The case is unfolding as Spanish politics faces increased scrutiny over potential corruption, and could have implications for the ruling Socialist party.
Sources close to the investigation confirmed the detentions, adding that the operation remains open under the supervision of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities are focusing on potential crimes including fraud, document forgery, embezzlement, influence peddling, and abuse of power, according to reports.
Díez, 52, of Bilbao, is currently being held at the Guardia Civil detention center in Tres Cantos, Madrid. She is also implicated in a separate investigation involving alleged bribery and influence peddling being investigated by Madrid’s Court No. 9. Prosecutors allege she “led” a “criminal plan” to discredit officials within the UCO and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, with the aim of halting investigations involving politicians and business leaders.
Díez has publicly presented herself as an investigative journalist researching alleged wrongdoing within the Spanish state, and has denied any affiliation with the Socialist Party. However, recordings revealed in court documents related to a separate case, reveal she described herself as the “right hand” of Santos Cerdán, the former PSOE Organization Secretary. These recordings, part of a case led by Arturo Zamarriego, paint a different picture of her political connections.
Díez served as a deputy mayor in the Cantabrian municipality of Vega de Pas following the 2011 elections. Later, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in office, she was appointed head of communications for Enusa, a state-owned company under the SEPI umbrella, between 2018 and 2021. At the time, Vicente Fernández served as SEPI’s president. From 2022 to 2024, Díez was Director of Philately and Institutional Relations at Correos, the Spanish postal service, where she expressed gratitude to Juan Manuel Serrano, the company’s former president and ex-chief of staff to Sánchez.
Vicente Fernández Guerrero, 52, of Málaga, became president of SEPI in 2018 after Sánchez’s investiture, but stepped down a year later, in 2019. In 2021, Fernández Guerrero sought permission from the Office of Conflicts of Interest to work as an external advisor for Servinabar, a company linked to the Cerdán case, remaining in that role until 2023. The investigation into Cerdán has revealed allegations that he held a 45% stake in the company, which allegedly secured public contracts through improper arrangements originating from the Ministry of Transport.
Sources close to Fernández say his advisory work with Servinabar was directly for the company’s owner, Joseba Antxon Alonso, focusing on finding partners and private, non-public projects on the Costa del Sol. These sources also indicate that Fernández lent Díez an apartment in Madrid’s Salamanca neighborhood for meetings.
Prior to his time at SEPI, Fernández Guerrero served as the General Intervenor of the Andalusian Regional Government, the top internal control and accounting body for the Andalusian administration. He also held the position of Secretary General for Innovation, Industry and Energy in Andalusia from 2012 to 2016, and served as secretary on the boards of directors of several public companies, including Empresa Pública de Gestión de Activos, Sociedad de Gestión, Financiación e Inversión Patrimonial; and Cartuja 93.
Colleagues from Fernández’s time in Andalusia describe him as highly ambitious, technically rigorous, and well-connected within the business and administrative sectors. He reportedly rose to the top of his class in his professional training.
Fernández was previously implicated in a case before the Seville Court regarding the awarding of the Aznalcóllar mine (Seville), but was acquitted along with the other 15 defendants. He appeared before a Senate parliamentary committee investigating the Cerdán case last July, but invoked his right to remain silent. The court ultimately ruled there was no evidence of impropriety in the mine’s awarding.
Ester Muñoz, a spokesperson for the PP (Popular Party), stated that “at this rate of scandals, by 2027 there won’t be anything left of the PSOE,” referencing the end of the current legislative term, which President Sánchez has insisted he will complete. “At this rate of arrests, the prisons will likely become too small,” she added. The comments underscore the political fallout from the ongoing investigations.
