Naseiro Case

The Naseiro case was a case of corruption of the Popular Party of Spain that was known shortly after the arrival of José María Aznar to the presidency of the party in 1989. An investigating judge from Valencia (Judge Manglano) issued an indictment against several members of the Popular Party, among whom were its treasurer Rosendo Naseiro and Ángel Sanchis Perales, deputy for Valencia and also former treasurer of the party.

History

The prosecution of these members of the Popular Party took place after wiretaps were carried out on another member of the party, the councilor of Valencia, Salvador Palop, whose brother was being investigated for drug trafficking. These wiretaps uncovered an alleged case of illegal financing of the Popular Party and personal enrichment of some involved.

The Naseiro case turned 1990 into an ordeal for José María Aznar who, having a precedent for what happened in the PSOE, carried out an investigation within his party and requested that an investigative commission be opened in Congress. The crisis caused several members of the Popular Party to be expelled from it, and the expulsion of Eduardo Zaplana was even requested, who would later become president of the Valencian Generalitat and minister in the last Aznar government.

The Naseiro case reached the Supreme Court in 1992, due to the status of deputy of Ángel Sanchis Perales and Pedro Agramunt, President of the PPCV, where it was archived due to some irregularities in the investigation from the summary: The wiretaps had been ordered to investigate only the case of drug trafficking and, therefore, their use in the alleged crime of illegal financing did not enjoy judicial supervision. The court ordered the subsequent destruction of the incriminating tapes with the conversations of those involved. However, the recordings can be read in newspaper archives given their historical value, although legally they have no evidentiary value.

Despite this matter, José María Aznar's image in national politics was not damaged, as he himself had no known involvement in the matter. His power within the Popular Party, his image as leader of the opposition and that of his party as an alternative government were consolidated, not being legally stained by the scandal, as well as the wiretaps annulled due to the current illegality committed when obtaining them, and determined phrase I'm in politics to get rich by Vicente Sanz (former president of the Provincial Council of Valencia, belonging to the Popular Party) in a conversation with Eduardo Zaplana.

Link to the Gürtel case

The accusation of Ángel Sanchis Perales in the Gürtel case has ended up giving numerous indications of links with the Naseiro case.