The Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard has placed the PNV within the framework of the 'Leire Díez case', an investigation into alleged maneuvers to influence judicial decisions and the granting of public aid. According to a report accessed by 'EFE', agents note the interest of the then president of the party, Andoni Ortúzar, in an operation linked to Tubos Reunidos.
The document has been sent to Judge Santiago Pedraz, who is instructing the case, which analyzes alleged actions to condition the approval of SEPI aid, including a loan of 112.9 million euros to the industrial company.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office maintains that the group called Hirurok —allegedly composed of Leire Díez, former SEPI president Vicente Fernández, and businessman Antxon Alonso— would have carried out "actions aimed at granting" the public aid, for which they would have collected 114,950 euros through Mediaciones Martínez.
The UCO considers these invoices to be "false", understanding that the payments would actually correspond to efforts to facilitate the granting of the loan to Tubos Reunidos.
The report adds that the investigated group would have contacted "a member of the Basque Nationalist Party," which could have contributed to unblocking the operation. Furthermore, it states that, after the loan was granted, it was requested to inform "Sabin Etxea," the PNV headquarters, about the outcome of the efforts.
Among the documentation is also a meeting in 2024 between Cerdán, Leire Díez, and executives of Tubos Reunidos at the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz, as well as references to new efforts to restructure the company's debt in 2025, according to EFE.
Judge Pedraz starts interrogations in the 'Leire Díez case'
The investigation of the 'Leire Díez case' enters a new phase this week. The judge of the Audiencia Nacional Santiago Pedraz has scheduled nearly twenty appearances that begin this Tuesday and will continue over the next few weeks with witnesses and investigated parties linked to the case.
The first statements will be made by two Civil Guard officials: the general who heads the Headquarters of the corps and Commander Juan Manuel Barco Mostazo, current acting secretary of the Deputy Operational Director (DAO). Both will appear as witnesses to clarify various aspects related to the opening of a confidential inquiry into alleged leaks within the framework of the Koldo case.
The judicial agenda will continue throughout the week with new appearances by Civil Guard commanders. Among those summoned for Friday are several high-level officials of the armed institution, including the former head of the Central Operative Unit (UCO), Rafael Yuste; the head of the Judicial Police, Alfonso Alberto López Malo, who publicly warned of a discredit campaign against the UCO; and the general in charge of the Civil Guard Staff.
The case seeks to clarify the actions of former socialist militant Leire Díez, to whom actions aimed at promoting investigations into UCO members are attributed. According to the investigations, these movements would have included contacts with the director general of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González.
The scheduled statements will continue on Thursday with the appearance of Jacobo Teijelo, one of the lawyers investigated in the procedure. Teijelo also defends Santos Cerdán in the Koldo case. Days later, on July 14, lawyer Leticia de la Hoz, defender of Koldo García and also investigated in this case, is summoned.
Among the most anticipated appearances is that of the president of the PSOE, Cristina Narbona, summoned for next July 10 as part of a round of interrogations with which the magistrate intends to clarify the scope of the contacts and actions under investigation.
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