Spain’s Conservative Party Embroiled in “Operation Kitchen” Spying Case

MADRID, KOMPAS.com – A spying case in Spain dubbed “Operation Kitchen” is dominating headlines in the country where the findings could taint a former prime minister.

Spain’s conservative opposition party is embroiled in a scandal involving spying allegations where an informant was paid out of state coffers to spy on a prominent party member.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he hopes the courts will "shed light" on the case which is "very worrying" and "belongs to a dark age" for Spain.

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Last week, public prosecutors began declassifying a 52-page document about the investigation into “Operation Kitchen”.

The case’s namesake is traced to the code name of the suspected informant which was “the cook”.

The informant worked as a driver for the former treasurer of the Popular Party (PP), Luis Barcenas, who in May 2018 was sentenced to 33 years in jail for his role in a kickbacks scheme which financed the party known as the Gurtel case.

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The ruling led to the ouster of PP prime minister Mariano Rajoy in a confidence vote in parliament several days later.

Public prosecutors allege the driver received €2,000 ($2,370) per month, as well as the promise of a job in the police force, in exchange for obtaining information regarding where "Barcenas and his wife hide compromising documents" about the PP and its senior leaders, according to a copy of the report seen by AFP.