Madrid prosecutors rejected a request to investigate alleged obstruction of justice in the criminal case against David Sánchez, brother of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The Economic Crimes Section of the Madrid Provincial Prosecutor's Office submitted a report in August 2026 to Judge Arturo Zamarriego, head of Madrid Investigating Court Number 9. In the document, prosecutors urged the court to disallow a lawsuit filed by civil servants' union Manos Limpias that sought to expand an investigation into alleged covert political operations linked to the ruling party.
Manos Limpias, a legal campaign group led by Miguel Bernad, asked the court to investigate former socialist militant Leire Díez, businessman Javier Pérez Dolset, and former judge José Luis Sáenz de Tejada. The lawsuit accused the three of executing maneuvers to gain unauthorized access to personal email accounts to discredit National Court magistrate Teresa Palacios.
The union also alleged that Díez, Pérez Dolset, and Sáenz de Tejada attempted to obstruct proceedings led by Badajoz magistrate Beatriz Biedma, who sent David Sánchez to trial. Manos Limpias claimed the alleged plot sought to neutralize judicial actions affecting the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, attributing crimes of obstruction of justice, procedural fraud, and disclosure of secrets.
Prosecution Opposition to Expanded Investigation
The public prosecution service maintained that the claims presented by Manos Limpias lacked any objective or subjective connection to the existing preliminary proceedings. Until transferring the investigation to Judge Santiago Pedraz at the National Court, Judge Zamarriego had limited the probe strictly to bribery and influence peddling allegations against Díez, Pérez Dolset, and journalist Pere Rusiñol.
Prosecutors concluded that the events raised by Manos Limpias were not of the same legal nature and shared no factual similarity with the existing inquiry. In the report accessed by LA RAZÓN, the prosecutor warned that merging the complaints would not assist in clarifying responsibilities and would cause severe procedural delays due to its breadth and complexity.
The prosecution noted that the underlying Madrid judicial process focused specifically on alleged offers made by Díez, Pérez Dolset, and Rusiñol to former Anti-Corruption prosecutors Ignacio Stampa and José Grinda. Investigators also examined meetings aimed at compiling negative information on retired magistrate Manuel García-Castellón, Anti-Corruption Chief Prosecutor Alejandro Luzón, and Grinda to influence their professional actions negatively.
Separation of Anti-Corruption Inquiries
The Madrid prosecutor emphasized that allegations involving insults, slander, and secret disclosure raised in Badajoz had already been excluded from the Madrid court proceedings.
Manos Limpias filed its initial complaint on June 16, 2026, at the Plaza de Castilla courthouse in Madrid, seeking standing as a popular prosecution. The filing followed a June 10 decision by Judge Zamarriego denying the group standing as an injured private prosecution.
In the June filing, Manos Limpias cited media reports claiming covert networks had illegally accessed internal union email accounts to gather information and question its legal standing in Badajoz. On the same date as its report against expanding the probe, the Madrid Prosecutor's Office recommended dismissing an appeal filed by Manos Limpias against the June 10 decision denying its private standing.
