Spanish Court Makes New Copy of Ex-Postal Chief's Phone

Spain's National Court has ordered a new digital copy of a mobile phone belonging to Juanma Serrano, the former president of the state postal operator Correos, after he refused to accept an earlier copy produced by police investigators.

The initial copy had been made by the UCO, the Civil Guard's specialised unit for handling complex financial and organised crime investigations. Serrano, however, argued that this first extraction was irregular, meaning it had not followed proper legal procedure, and declined to accept it as valid evidence.

In response, judge Pedraz — who is overseeing the case — ordered a fresh, court-supervised copy of the device's data. Such a copy is often referred to informally as a clone, since digital forensic tools can reproduce an exact replica of a phone's contents, including messages, calls and files.

The judge's decision appears aimed at ensuring that any potentially significant communications stored on the phone are properly preserved for the ongoing investigation, known informally as the 'Leire case'. Preserving digital evidence through an official, verifiable process is seen as essential to maintaining its legal validity in court.

The National Court is one of Spain's highest judicial bodies, responsible for handling cases of major public or political significance, including corruption and organised crime investigations.

Separately, the UCO has also gathered messages belonging to another figure linked to the inquiry: the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. A chief of staff typically holds a senior advisory role, coordinating a leader's daily activities and communications.

No further details about the content of either the phone data or the messages have been disclosed publicly at this stage. It remains uncertain exactly how these materials will factor into the broader investigation, or what conclusions investigators may eventually draw from them.

The case continues to develop, with judicial authorities expected to review the newly obtained evidence as part of the wider inquiry into the events under scrutiny.