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Spanish Judges Order Data Filtering in SEPI Probe, Summon Ayuso Aide Over Alleged Journalist Data Leak

Investigators are barred from using seized devices until a judicial expurgo separates personal material from evidence.

Overview

  • National Court judge Santiago Pedraz ordered the Guardia Civil’s UCO to deliver all originals seized from Leire Díez and to refrain from using their contents until a court‑supervised expurgo is completed.
  • He opened a separate reserved file for the filtering process, which remains under secrecy, to segregate private data from case‑relevant material.
  • The investigation examines suspected rigging of five public operations tied to SEPI worth about €132 million and potential commissions exceeding €700,000, with Díez, ex‑SEPI president Vicente Fernández and businessman Antxon Alonso detained in December and later released with measures.
  • UCO has begun examining roughly 15 devices and corporate materials but must now prioritize the court‑mandated filtering; the judge has not ruled on defense requests to return devices or unblock accounts.
  • In a separate Madrid case, Judge Raquel Robles cited Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s chief of staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, to appear on May 6 as an investigated party over an alleged revelation of two EL PAÍS journalists’ data after the Provincial Court ordered the probe reopened and the identification of involved police.