Prostitutes, kickbacks and a porn star: Spanish PM Sánchez's Socialist Party rocked by wild corruption scandal
Live Events
Who's involved in the scandal?
FAQs
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez , who once promised to clean up politics, is now caught in a massive corruption scandal. His Socialist Party is under fire for shady deals, prostitutes, secret recordings, and even a porn star. His wife and brother are also facing serious accusations.Pedro Sánchez became PM in 2018 after removing the last leader, Rajoy, for corruption. He promised to clean up politics and called for a 'new democratic era.' Now his own party, PSOE, is involved in a giant scandal involving sex workers, shady deals, and illegal contracts, as per the report by The Telegraph.His wife is being investigated for using her position to help people unfairly. His brother, David, got a special job made just for him in a public office, according to reports. Enemies call Sánchez 'the dog' because they say he's hard to get rid of, but this scandal might finally do it. Sánchez is known for his 'woke' politics and feminist image, but now tapes show his allies talking about sex workers.This shocked his left-wing supporters, including ministers who refused to sit beside him in Congress. Santos Cerdan, one of Sánchez 's closest allies, resigned last week over corruption claims. Police say Cerdan charged companies money in exchange for public contracts in Navarre. Sánchez apologized for defending Cerdan, calling the whole thing a small 'anecdote', as stated by The Telegraph report.The scandal includes Koldo Garcia, a former nightclub bouncer turned top aide. Koldo worked for Jose Luis Abalos, ex-minister and longtime party insider. Abalos is suspected of taking kickbacks worth hundreds of thousands of euros. Abalos's house was raided by police in June. He was found with a woman named Anaís.Anais turned out to be porn star Letizia Hilton, according to El Mundo. Abalos allegedly tried to hide a hard drive with evidence by sneaking it in her pocket while she walked the dog. Koldo is said to have recorded all conversations for over 10 years, and police are now checking all his memory sticks, as per the report by The Telegraph.Police found recordings of officials talking about sex workers and shady deals. One tape has Koldo saying, 'I could break someone's legs, but with time, you learn.' Now party members are paranoid, nobody knows who else was recorded. Another minister might be in trouble next, as police dig into more links to Abalos. Sánchez ordered an external audit of the party's finances to prove PSOE isn't corrupt.But opposition leader Feijoo said Sánchez is 'deeply caught in a corruption scheme' and called him out in Parliament. Feijoo told Sánchez, 'You're not the victim. The Spanish people are'. Feijoo also said Sánchez is avoiding early elections because he 'knows he will lose.' Now everyone is waiting for the next batch of leaked recordings; they could decide if Sánchez stays or falls, as per The Telegraph.He's linked to a huge scandal involving his party, sex workers, and corruption.Her name is Letizia Hilton, found with ex-minister Ábalos during a police raid.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
World War III fears surge as 'spy' for Iran arrested for monitoring RAF base amid rising mid-east tensions
Live Events Man observed the base with lens and cellphones (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel A British man has been arrested in Cyrus on suspicion of spying and terror-related offences and authorities believe that the suspect was monitoring RAF Akrotiri on behalf of Iran amid country's rising tensions with Israel and US. He is suspected of having links with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , according to The police said the 26-year-old Azerbaijani man was detained on Sunday, based on information from the country's intelligence service. According to local news sources, the suspect reportedly has connections to Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard appeared in a district court earlier on Saturday and was detained for a further eight days. The Foreign Office said it was in contact with Cypriot authorities, according to BBC. Police told the news agency Reuters they would not be releasing further details, citing national Akrotiri is the UK's most important airbase for operations in the Middle East. It plays a critical role in British operations throughout the Middle East. His arrest occurred on Friday after intelligence suggested he was preparing to carry out a terrorist act imminently, as reported by man was reportedly observed near RAF Akrotiri, a critical UK airbase for Middle East operations, carrying a camera with a long lens and multiple mobile phones. According to investigators, the man was living in an apartment in Limassol's Zakaki district, a short distance from the base. He was allegedly seen near RAF Akrotiri with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens and in possession of three mobile phones. It comes after Trump was humiliated by reporters after his alarming warning over suspect is also alleged to have had the Cyprus Andreas Papandreou airbase, in the western region of Paphos, under surveillance since mid-April, the country's ANT1 news portal reported. Local reports suggested he was Azerbaijani but the UK Foreign Office said they were working with the authorities over the arrest of a Briton.A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are in contact with the authorities in Cyprus regarding the arrest of a British man.'RAF Akrotiri hosts a variety of aircraft, including fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, transport aircraft, and aerial refuelling tankers. The base is also central to the UK's ongoing mission targeting Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria and Iraq, serving as a launch point for related operations reports The Irish Star.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Grifols Case Shows It Paid Family-Linked Entity More for Plasma
(Bloomberg) -- Spanish drugmaker Grifols SA paid a higher price to buy blood plasma from an entity linked to its controlling family than from third-party suppliers, according to a regulator's findings submitted in a court case. Grifols paid Scranton Enterprises BV — one of its main shareholders — between 2% and 39% more annually for plasma than it paid other suppliers over five years, according to a document from the securities regulator filed with a Spanish court. Grifols also agreed to pay a fixed 16.5% mark up on costs to Scranton, according to the documents, which were seen by Bloomberg. Although Grifols had previously disclosed that it had a 30-year supply agreement with Scranton, it hadn't revealed any information on how prices were set. The deal was signed in 2018 and stipulated that Grifols would buy all the plasma from two companies owned by Scranton, Haema and BPC. Scranton, which is owned by members of the Grifols family and acquaintances, had acquired Haema and BPC from Grifols the same year. In a statement in response to Bloomberg questions, Grifols denied any illicit enrichment and said that all explanations related to the transactions have already been given to the securities regulator CNMV. The disclosures are emerging in documents in a court fight between Grifols and short seller Gotham City Research, and once again raise questions about the company's governance. In a January 2024 short-selling report, New York-based Gotham had accused Grifols of misleading investors and misstating its accounting —- claims denied by the Barcelona-based company. Business dealings between Grifols and Scranton had been at the heart of Gotham's attack. Grifols and Scranton subsequently took Gotham to court in Spain while Grifols also filed a lawsuit against the short seller in New York. The regulator documents filed with the court also show that Grifols specifically asked the Spanish securities agency CNMV in 2019 not to publicly disclose the pricing deal. In a statement to Bloomberg, Grifols said it never made the request. 'These are matters that fall within the jurisdiction of the affected company, and it is the company that must decide whether to make them public,' the CNMV said in a response to questions regarding the disclosures. Gotham declined to comment. Scranton representatives didn't reply to several calls and emails seeking comment. According to the court documents, Grifols told the securities regulator that the sale of Haema and BPC was unanimously approved on Dec. 24, 2018, by members of its board who had no links to Scranton, but didn't address the regulator's questions about whether conflicted directors took part in the deliberations prior to the vote. Grifols also told the CNMV that the fairness opinion letter for Scranton's acquisition of Haema and BPC was produced by then Chief Financial Officer Alfredo Arroyo, who retired from the company last year. Arroyo declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg. Fairness opinions are typically written by investment banks or independent valuation firms and help boards with their financial assessment. The Spanish court is assessing whether Gotham published potentially misleading or biased information about Grifols. The court's fact-finding process in the case includes various reports produced by the securities regulator CNMV — one focusing on whether Gotham's actions could amount to market manipulation and another examining alleged shortcomings in Grifols' financial disclosures. Following the Gotham report, Grifols removed family members from top management positions and also named outsiders as chief executive officer and CFO. More stories like this are available on
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Spain and Rutte Locked in Defense Showdown on Eve of NATO Summit
(Bloomberg) -- By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatens to derail a NATO summit that Secretary General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance's future survival. On the eve of the gathering in The Hague, things are going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their number one task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP. Rutte needs to keep Spain in line while preventing others like Slovakia from breaking ranks. The NATO leaders are meeting against the backdrop of surging tensions in the Middle East after the US bombed three nuclear sites in Iran at the weekend, prompting Tehran to threaten retaliation. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is also well into its fourth year with Russian President Vladimir Putin continuing to make hardline demands for territory. As host, and making his own debut in the top job, this is shaping up to be a worst-case scenario for the Dutch secretary general on his home soil. The risk is that Trump, who has already cottoned on to 'notorious' Spain and has kept his trip short, sees the divisions spill out in the open and gets an excuse to walk out. Rather than securing his iron-clad pledge to stand by the post-war alliance's most sacrosanct principle of collective defense known as Article 5 (an attack on one is an attack on all), Spanish intransigence on spending may throw the optics into disarray. 'Spain thinks they can achieve those targets on a percentage of 2.1%' of gross domestic product, Rutte told reporters Monday. 'NATO is absolutely convinced Spain will have to spend 3.5% to get there.' On Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico joined Spain in saying that his country now would also reserve a right to decide how fast and by how much it increases its defense budget. Slovakia can meet the alliance's requirements without hiking spending to the 5% level, he said. All member countries have signed off on ambitious new lists of weapons and troops — so-called capability targets — that each country needs to provide as part of its NATO commitment. The alliance has broken down the 5% goal to 3.5% spending on defense with an additional 1.5% dedicated to related investment. 'Each country will now regularly report what they are doing in terms of spending and reaching the targets,' Rutte said. 'So we will see and anyway there will be a review in 2029.' Spain has refused to sign up to the 5% target, while also assuring NATO that it will fulfill the capability requirements. It's arguing that 2.1% of defense spending will be sufficient to achieve that. Rutte has gone out of his way to accommodate Spain. The statement adopted at the summit will give Spain 'flexibility' to 'determine its own sovereign path for reaching the capability targets,' he told Sanchez in a letter on Sunday. The question facing the NATO chief now is whether he can get all members to mute their objections by the time alliance members sit down for dinner on Tuesday hosted by King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands. --With assistance from Max Ramsay and Michal Kubala. More stories like this are available on
