The Government of Pedro Sánchez has returned to the center of international controversy after it was revealed that it allocated nearly two million euros in subsidies to the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE), an entity chaired by Mohamad Aidman Adbli, who was recently investigated by the National Court for his alleged links to Syrian jihadist organizations related to the Al Qaeda affiliate and the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to verification by the source outlet in the National System for the Publicity of Subsidies and Public Aid (SNPSA), CIE began receiving public funds in 2021, already under socialist management, through a direct order from the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Since then, the entity has received more than 1.7 million euros in subsidies with no compensation, all coming from State allocations. Pedro Sánchez, presidente de España.
The case gained greater relevance when the content of the order by National Court judge Antonio Piña became known. Although the case was ultimately closed due to a lack of "sufficient evidence" to bring formal charges, the judge stated that it is "directly proven" that funding from Spain went to two Syrian entities—the Damascus Rural Relief Council and the NGO Al Bashaer—both linked to jihadist structures present in the conflict in the Arab country.
Police and Europol reports detail that the flow of funds occurred within the framework of alleged humanitarian aid campaigns. The complexity of the Syrian terrain, the order notes, makes it impossible to ensure that the destination of the money was strictly charitable. This difficulty was key to the judicial dismissal, but it did not alter the central fact: the transfers existed, were tracked, and were directed to organizations where militias such as Jaysh Al Islam operated.
The investigation identified messages, thank-you letters, and bank movements that confirm the sending of money from Spain. Among those investigated were also members of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain (UCIDE), responsible for signing agreements with the Syrian NGO and participating in fundraising campaigns, although the judge determined that there was no evidence that they had acted with the intention of financing terrorism. Pedro Sánchez en una entrevista para el medio El País.
The facts once again place the criteria for the allocation of public funds during the Sánchez administration under scrutiny, characterized by an expansive use of direct subsidies and by the absence of rigorous controls that in this case allowed an institution linked to individuals under investigation to receive more than one and a half million euros.
In addition, CIE's demands regarding the Spanish educational system are advancing, as it calls for a greater presence of Islamic education in public schools and specific benefits such as mandatory halal menus. The increase in state funding for this structure, in parallel with investigations into connections with radical militias, has caused strong alarms in political and social sectors.
