A leading Spanish senator and ex mayor of Valencia, Rita Barbera, has died at 68 of a heart attack, doctors say.
The Supreme Court began inquiring Ms Barbera in September.
A lot of her team happen to be accused of corruption, but Ms Barbera denied any participation in a suspected illegal funding network.
A lower court judge initially requested an investigation but Ms Barbera’s standing as a senator, allowing her exemption meant she could just be inquired by the Supreme Court.
The investigation relates to Operation Taula, which found 24 people arrested in January and is focused on the actions of local officials in Alicante Valencia and Castellon.
All those held have links to the PP, the dominant political force in the region until elections brought a move to the left in May 2015, as well as the PP lost its absolute majority.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy paid tribute to Ms Barbera, who he said “gave everything for Valencia and the Popular Party”.
