Púnica case

On 27 October 2014, 35 people were arrested, of whom 15 remained under investigation.^[13]

On October 31, 2014, the judge decreed that Francisco Granados be admitted to prison, a decision that was confirmed by the Audiencia Nacional a month and a half later when they understood that there was still a risk of escape and destruction of evidence, which could well have happened in that month and a half, as they had plenty of time to do so. The order recalled that Granados is attributed with "being part of a criminal organization dedicated to committing crimes of money laundering, against the Public Treasury, false documents, bribery and influence peddling". The Audiencia Nacional also dismissed the appeal on the alleged illegality of his detention.^[13]

On 4 November 2014, Antonio Sánchez Fernández, former mayor of Serranillos del Valle, was discovered by the Guardia Civil taking boxes of documents from the town hall,^[14] after being alerted by a local official to the possibility of committing a crime. During the event, Sanchez was being investigated for malfeasance, fraud, bribery and embezzlement. Before the event, he had alleged ill health as a reason for not testifying before the judge.

In October 2017, Francisco Granados' defense filed a brief with the judge asking for an investigation into other charges by the Community of Madrid, such as Ignacio González.^[14]

In November 2017, the investigators sent several reports to the Central Court of Instruction number 6 in which they requested to extend the investigation to Eduardo Zaplana as well.^[14]

On February 12, 2018, Francisco Granados testified before the judge, prompting controversy over the existence of an alleged past "relationship" between Ignacio Gonzalez and Cristina Cifuentes.^[15] Reactions to Granados' words came soon: on February 13, 2018, Ignacio Gonzalez came under investigation in Operation Punic, while on February 15, 2018, Cristina Cifuentes filed a complaint against Granados for alleged slander and libel, which has ultimately failed.^[15]

In 2018, the main investigations were focused on clarifying the alleged links of the computer expert Alejandro de Pedro Llorca with political and business personalities, especially in the Cartagena environment.^[16]

In September 2015, Judge Eloy Velasco determined to divide the investigation of the case into 12 pieces.^[17]

In April 2019, the court set June 2020 as the deadline for completing the investigation of the case, leaving without effect an extension of 40 months until March 2022 previously set by Judge García-Castellón.^[17]

On 2 September 2019, Judge García-Castellón ordered the indictment of Esperanza Aguirre and Cristina Cifuentes, former presidents of the Community of Madrid, in one of the parts of the case (highlighting in the order the "decisive and essential" role that the former is alleged to have played in the illegal financing of the PP).^[18] The list of defendants included, among others, Juan José Güemes (former minister of Employment), Manuel Lamela (also a former minister, but mainly involved in his positions at Canal de Isabel II, ICM and Fundescam), Gádor Ongil (former minister of Social Services) and Borja Sarasola (also a former regional minister).^[19]