Cerdán stays jailed and the Civil Guard searches PSOE HQ over a party 'plumber'
A second corruption strand circles Sánchez: kickbacks on public works and an obstruction probe
Summary
A parallel Supreme Court strand continues against former PSOE organisation secretary Santos Cerdan for alleged kickbacks on rigged public-works contracts — bribery, criminal organisation and influence-peddling — with the Court confirming his provisional detention over the risk he would destroy evidence; he is accused of collecting commissions from contractors and channelling them to Jose Luis Abalos and his aide. Separately, Civil Guard (UCO) agents went to the PSOE's Ferraz headquarters seeking information on an alleged scheme run by former Socialist activist Leire Díez — dubbed the party "plumber" — to obstruct judicial and police investigations. Both threads, alongside the Spain's Supreme Court jails Sánchez's former right-hand man Ábalos for 24 years, gave allies and opposition fresh leverage at Pedro Sanchez's Sánchez survives a marathon Congress grilling, refuses to resign or call elections in Spain.
By the numbers
- 3 — alleged crimes against Cerdán (bribery, criminal organisation, influence-peddling).
- 1 — search of PSOE's Ferraz HQ by the Civil Guard's UCO.
- ~15 — total proceedings now circling the PSOE and its orbit.
- 2027 — scheduled election Sánchez insists on reaching.
Why it matters
The Cerdán case shows the corruption allegations reaching the party's machinery, not just individuals, while the "plumber" probe raises the more dangerous charge of actively obstructing justice. Together they convert a sequence of scandals into a question about the PSOE itself.
What to watch
- Charges or filings flowing from the Ferraz search.
- The next stage of Cerdán's Supreme Court case.
- Whether the obstruction allegations widen to senior figures.