Spain's El Mundo on Thursday reported that the Economic and Fiscal Crime Division of the Spanish Police (UDEF) has announced that between 2012 and 2015 the media company belonging to Pablo Iglesias, the leader of the leftist, anti-corruption Podemos Party, received more than nine million euros from Iran through other companies.
El Mondo said evidence gathered by the Police and anti-money laundering committee indicates that the 16 companies suspected of money laundering injected a total of 9.3 million euro of illicit Iranian money into the leftist politician's company.
According to El Mondo informed sources have said that these companies made at least 67 suspicious transfers to 360 Global Media through intermediary banks. The majority of the transfers were made through Emirates NBD (national Bank of Dubai) to the company which is the producer of programs for Hispan TV, the Spanish-language satellite channel of Iran's state-run broadcaster (IRIB).
Hispan TV is run by Iranian citizen Mahmoud Alizadeh Azimi and its programs mainly target Latin American states such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua and Mexico.
Iglesias, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda, and leader of Podemos, hosted Fort Apache, a talk show, on Hispan TV from January 2013 to 2019. The program was produced by his company 360 Global Media and CMI.
The Podemos party which campaigned on an anti-corruption platform has been under investigation from the Spanish Police and anti money-laundering authorities since 2016.
