Prostitutes, kickbacks and a porn star: Spanish PM Sánchez's Socialist Party rocked by wild corruption scandal
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
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Stunts turn fatal: Pilot, son die in plane crash near Puerto Soller, Spain; investigation underway
Representative image A pilot and his 13-year-old son were found dead after their two-seater biplane crashed into the sea off the coast of Mallorca, Spanish police confirmed Sunday. The Team Rocket F-4 Raider aircraft went down in the Puerto Soller area on Saturday night. According to Spanish media as cited by Reuters, the plane appeared to be performing aerial stunts before it plunged into the water around 8.20 pm. Emergency services launched an immediate search, but the victims could not be located during the initial operation. The search resumed at first light on Sunday, with specialist divers deployed to the area. "At approximately 1 pm.(1100 GMT) specialist divers from the Civil Guard recovered the lifeless bodies of the pilot and his son who accompanied him in a sea which reaches a depth of 30 metres and they have been transferred to the Puerto of Soller," the Spanish Civil Guard said in a statement. Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Macron slams 'abject cruelty' of Hamas hostage video
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Hamas showed "inhumanity without bounds" by releasing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in and its Islamic Jihad ally have recently released three clips showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who were seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war."Abject cruelty, inhumanity without bounds: this is what Hamas represents," said the French head of state of the "unbearable images"."The absolute priority for France is the immediate release of all the hostages," he added on the footage shared by the Palestinian Islamist groups, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and footage of David showed him digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave, triggering particular who has said France will recognise a Palestinian state in September, promised to "work without respite" for "the re-establishment without delay of a ceasefire, and to allow the mass delivery of humanitarian aid, still blocked at the gates of Gaza".But he also argued that Hamas must have no part ruling coastal strip once the war ends."We must have the total demilitarisation of Hamas, its complete exclusion from any form of governance and the recognition of Israel by the state of Palestine," he Macron, the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also condemned the videos as showing Hamas's "barbarity", insisting the Islamist militants disarm and release the dozens of hostages it still keeps in Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga added his voice to the outrage, insisting that "Hamas's inhuman treatment of the Israeli hostages deserves a very strong condemnation"."People in Gaza should not remain suffering because of Hamas's heinous crimes. It must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately," Sybiga added on and David are among 49 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are of the 251 hostages seized in the attack have been released, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers those figures to be reliable.
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Parents leave 10-year-old at Barcelona airport over passport issue, fly without him
A couple allegedly abandoned their 10-year-old son at Barcelona's Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport after discovering his Spanish passport had expired and he didn't have a required visa. The incident took place at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport on Wednesday, according to The Sun, which cited an air traffic control worker who shared details of the case in a TikTok video. The worker, who identified herself as Lilian, said the boy was not allowed to board the plane because his Spanish passport had expired and he did not have a visa to travel. 'His passport in the country was expired,' Lilian said. 'So the child was travelling with a Spanish passport but the Spanish passport needed a visa. As they did not have a visa, they left the child at the terminal and called a relative to come and pick him up.' Lilian said airport staff found the boy alone and alerted the police. 'He told them that his parents were on the plane on their way to their home country, going on vacation,' she said. According to Lilian, the plane's pilot was contacted and confirmed that police had informed him there was a minor in the car park. He then asked passengers on board if anyone had left a child behind, but there was no response. The parents were later identified and found to be travelling with another, younger child. They were taken to a police station to collect their son. 'How is it possible for parents to leave their 10-year-old son at the terminal because he cannot travel due to documentation issues?' Lilian asked in the video. 'They call a relative but the relative may take half an hour, about an hour, about three hours and they take the flight so calmly and leave the child behind.' Fox News said it was unclear whether the parents faced any legal action or what their nationality was.
