By admin 
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish police are searching the headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party as part of an ongoing investigation into possible financial wrongdoing, the Civil Guard said Wednesday.
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The raid on the office in central Madrid is another blow to the party of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose Socialists have been hammered by a series of corruption scandals.
The Civil Guard told The Associated Press that the police were under judicial orders to find material relevant to a National Court probe into accusations of corruption against a former party member involved in a state-run company.
Just last week a different court said it was investigating former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling and other possible crimes tied to a government airline bailout. He has denied any wrongdoing.
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Sánchez’s wife and brother are being probed over allegations of influence peddling, which both have denied.
And, most damning for the Socialists, a former minister under Sánchez and a senior party official are both being investigated on allegations they played a part in a kickback ring that started during the COVID-19 pandemic, which they have denied.
Sánchez, prime minister since 2018, has called the cases against his family a “smear campaign.” But the corruption case against his former cohorts led him to ask the nation for “forgiveness” in 2025.
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