The Badajoz Provincial Court is currently upholding the extension of the investigation into the brother of the President of the Government, David Sánchez, to include La Moncloa, according to reports from El País (López-Fonseca, 2025). This decision comes after the magistrates concluded that the measures ordered by the judge are necessary to «complete» the investigation into alleged irregularities in his hiring by the Badajoz Provincial Council in 2017.

Judicial Setback for David Sánchez

David Sánchez is reportedly facing a double judicial setback. The four magistrates of the First Section of the Badajoz Provincial Court have reportedly rejected two appeals filed by Pedro Sánchez's relative's lawyer to prevent some of the latest measures ordered by the head of Investigating Court number 3 of Badajoz, Beatriz Biedma, who is investigating alleged irregularities in his hiring in 2017 by the Badajoz Provincial Council.

The magistrates are currently endorsing the judge's decision both to collect various documents and to commission a report from the Central Operative Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard on «the previous professional relations» and «the content and nature of the same» that the President's brother maintained with Luis Carrero, who was a trusted staff member of the Palacio de La Moncloa and who ended up working with the President's brother in the Badajoz organisation.

According to Óscar López-Fonseca (2025), the court's decision has the support of the Public Prosecutor's Office. David Sánchez, who resigned on 5 February from his post as head of the Office of Performing Arts of the Provincial Council, has been summoned to testify for the second time as an accused on 25 April. The former employee of the Presidency must also appear in court as an investigated party.

Allegations of a Tailor-Made Position

In his previous appearance as an investigated party, on 9 January, David Sanchez reportedly denied any irregularity in his hiring in 2017 by the Badajoz Provincial Council. However, the judge has pointed out in some of her resolutions her suspicions that this institution created a tailor-made position for the President's brother and that, even, it accommodated it to the «personal preferences» of Pedro Sánchez's relative «so that his daily attendance at his office was not necessary».

The Role of Luis Carrero

The two orders of the Provincial Court known this Friday come after Pedro Sánchez's brother appealed against two decisions of the judge to investigate his relationship with Carrero, as well as «the possible existence of indications of criminality» in the creation and awarding of a post in the Badajoz Provincial Council that ended up being occupied by this former La Moncloa employee.

Then, the judge argued that several e-mails seized from Pedro Sánchez's brother revealed that the former employee of the Presidency collaborated with him before he obtained a post in the Provincial Council. The magistrate also pointed out that these messages inferred that there was a «very close» personal relationship between the two, which, according to the judge, raised doubts about the hiring in 2023 of the former La Moncloa employee as head of the Coordination and Programmes Section of Cross-Border Activities of the Badajoz provincial government.

«Luis Carrero addresses David Sánchez as 'little brother'. The above makes it very suspicious that Carrero has subsequently occupied a post in the Provincial Council where he works directly with Sánchez,» added the magistrate (López-Fonseca, 2025).

The resolution also reportedly highlighted that the La Moncloa ex-employee's post in the Badajoz organisation did not depend on the Office of Performing Arts - which was headed by the President's brother until his resignation - but was subordinate to another department, the Service of Cultural, Youth and Sports Activities.

Defence Arguments and Court Rejection

David Sánchez's defence appealed against both resolutions of the magistrate considering that with them she was extending a «patina of guilt» over «any event» related to his professional work in the Badajoz Administration. The defence argued that there was «absence of objective evidence» for the court to investigate Carrero and argued that the first time the former La Moncloa employee appeared in the investigation was during the questioning of David Sánchez as an accused in January and tangentially: «It is almost at the end of the magistrate's extensive questioning when these names are mentioned, in a manifestly innocuous and neutral way, in response to the question of who his subordinates were,» the appeal reportedly stated (López-Fonseca, 2025).

Now, the Provincial Court is reportedly rejecting with similar arguments in both orders the «practically identical» allegations made by David Sánchez's defence in his two appeals. Thus, it denies that Judge Biedma is carrying out a «prospective» investigation and, therefore, prohibited by law. The magistrates reportedly reminded Pedro Sánchez's brother that every judicial investigation is a living process that can change course as new evidence appears during the investigation. «It cannot be understood that the list of people investigated at this time and mentioned in these orders is immovable,» the court reportedly stressed.

In this sense, the magistrates recognise that when the judicial investigation began, the La Moncloa advisor did not appear, but they stress that it is «evident» that Carrero's name has emerged «as a result of the investigation into the [electronic] mails seized», so it considers that continuing to investigate these communications will allow «to complete the investigation, always oriented in the person of Mr. Sánchez with respect to the job he occupied».

In addition, it reportedly highlights that in the order in which he ordered the proceedings, the judge collected «in a meticulous way» the documentation that showed the relationship between the former Presidency employee and the brother of Pedro Sánchez. For all these reasons, the Provincial Court concludes that the magistrate reasoned «exhaustively» her decision and, therefore, at no time incurred in «an excess of object in the investigation or violation» of the law, and rejects the two appeals (López-Fonseca, 2025).

Reference

López-Fonseca, Ó. (2025, March 21). La Audiencia de Badajoz avala que se amplíe a La Moncloa la investigación sobre el hermano de Sánchez. El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/espana/2025-03-21/la-audiencia-de-badajoz-avala-que-se-amplie-a-la-moncloa-la-investigacion-sobre-el-hermano-de-sanchez.html