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A Spanish judge has sent the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to trial over corruption allegations and ordered her to surrender her passport and report to court twice a month.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who has led a two-year criminal probe into Begoña Gómez, ordered her to stand trial over allegations that she misused public funds and exploited her relationship with the premier to advance her career at a university. Gómez denies wrongdoing.
The judge’s decision stunned Spain when it was announced on Saturday, intensifying a storm of controversy around Sánchez. His brother, two of his former right-hand men and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a close ally, also face corruption investigations.
Sánchez, a Socialist, insists that he and those close to him are the victims of rightwing judicial persecution. They all deny wrongdoing.
Spain’s next general election is not due until next year but opposition politicians are demanding that the prime minister calls a snap poll immediately as his authority is being sapped by the controversies.
In a series of “precautionary measures” that will remain in place until the end of the court proceedings, Peinado banned Gómez from leaving Spain and ordered her to surrender her passport. He also demanded that she report to the court twice a month. No date for the trial has been set.
An official in Sánchez’s office said: “This confirms the persecution, obsession and judicial over-reach of a judge who has conducted an investigation devoid of any legal basis and motivated solely by political considerations.”
Gómez is accused of crimes including influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds and private sector corruption. The allegations relate to her work and business dealings at Madrid’s Complutense university, where she is accused of using personal connections and public resources — including an assistant on the state’s payroll — to advance her personal interests.
For Gómez’s own safety her whereabouts are always known to Spanish police, but Peinado suggested that fact elevated her flight risk.
“Those officers could, either on their own initiative or on the instructions of their superiors, assist in actions designed to facilitate her flight, thereby preventing the accused from being brought before justice,” the judge wrote.
When Peinado opened a preliminary investigation into Gómez in 2024, Sánchez withdrew from public life for five days to decide whether he wanted to carry on as prime minister. The case originated from a complaint filed by a campaign group founded by a former far-right activist.
David Sánchez, the premier’s brother, is awaiting a court verdict after standing trial over allegations of influence peddling relating to his appointment as head of performing arts in a provincial government.
Two of Sánchez’s former right-hand men, Santos Cerdán and ex-transport minister José Luis Ábalos, face allegations of receiving kickbacks from public contracts.
Zapatero, a former Socialist prime minister, is being investigated over allegations of political influence peddling relating to the Sánchez government’s €53mn state bailout of the airline Plus Ultra, which has links to Venezuela, in 2021.
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