57. What power is granted to the institution(s) responsible for examining reports and/or investigating violations?
Spain
[T]he responsible supervisory bodies are vested with wide investigative powers to call for all necessary documents to verify that the funding received by political parties (whether from public or private sources) complies with the legislation in force (Articles 132 and 134, Organic Law 5/1985 on the General Election Regime; Article 19, Organic Law 8/2007 on Political Parties Funding). Moreover, political parties and any other entity/person who has entered into commercial terms with them, are under a specific obligation to cooperate with the supervisory bodies, as necessary [...]. In principle, in the event of an irregularity/deficiency in a financial report, the Court of Audit would contact the party to clarify/remedy the situation. If nevertheless the irregularity detected suggests a potential instance of corruption, the Court of Audit will immediately report to the law enforcement authorities, as appropriate. The Court(s) of Audit carry out investigations both ex officio and following a citizen complaint [...]. The Court(s) of Audit is responsible for imposing [a] range of administrative sanctions.
Source: GRECO (2009). Evaluation Report on Spain, Transparency of Party Funding, pp. 12-13.
