Corruption scandal surrounds Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his inner circle
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces multiple corruption cases involving his family and close collaborators, including his brother and wife.
Corruption scandal surrounds Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his inner circle
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces a complicated summer due to a series of corruption cases affecting his immediate surroundings. Judicial investigations focus on both members of his family and former collaborators of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE).
The executive chief's brother, David Sánchez, is being tried in Extremadura for alleged undue influence and misappropriation of public funds. Ten other people face the same accusations alongside him. The case originated from a complaint filed by the organisation "Manos Limpias", a far-right union known for using the courts to pursue those it considers enemies of Spain.
According to the complaint, David Sánchez obtained a position as special adviser at the Badajoz city council in July 2017, when his brother was leader of the PSOE but had not yet become prime minister. The accused denies the charges and faces a prison sentence of three years if found guilty.
The Prime Minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, has also been charged. Last month, a Madrid judge brought charges against her for influence trafficking, bribery in commercial transactions and money laundering. She is accused of having used her position as the president's spouse to secure a post at the Complutense University of Madrid and of having used public resources and personal contacts to promote her private interests. Gómez, who is to appear before the court in a preliminary hearing on 9 June, denies having committed any crime.
Sánchez's predecessor in office, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is also under judicial investigation. A judge is examining whether he committed crimes of bribery and other offences related to the rescue of an airline linked to Venezuela during the COVID pandemic. Prosecutors are investigating whether the company made "improper use" of public funds approved by the government for its rescue, whilst the anti-corruption police are examining whether the airline used that money to launder capital from Venezuela through France, Albania and Italy.
According to the investigating judge, Zapatero allegedly supervised "a hierarchical structure of bribery" whose objective was "the obtaining of economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favour of third parties". The former leader insists on his innocence and has expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation. He is scheduled to appear before Spain's Supreme Court on 17 and 18 June.
In June of last year, Sánchez requested the resignation of the PSOE's organisation secretary and close collaborator, Santos Cerdán, when a judge at the Supreme Court announced that he had found "clear evidence" of his involvement in bribes related to public contracts. Cerdán denies any irregularity.
This case is linked to another in which close collaborators of Sánchez are also implicated. The former Minister of Transport José Luis Ábalos, together with his former cabinet chief Koldo García and businessman Víctor de Aldama, are accused of receiving bribes for public contracts for medical material during the COVID pandemic. Ábalos and García, who deny all charges, face sentences of 24 and 19 years in prison respectively, whilst Aldama has admitted his participation in the alleged scheme and faces a sentence of seven years.
On Wednesday 26 May, agents of the anti-corruption service searched the PSOE's central offices in Madrid in search of documentation related to an alleged scheme to rig judicial proceedings. The competent judge declared that Cerdán is among those under investigation for possible crimes such as prevarication, influence trafficking, bribery and witness tampering.
In November of last year, Spain's Attorney General, Álvaro García Ortiz, was suspended from his post for two years after being found guilty of leaking confidential information relating to a tax case involving a businessman linked to the Popular Party, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. When the case became public, Ortiz insisted that he had not personally leaked the information, whilst his defence argued that there was "absolutely no evidence" that he was the source of the leak. The journalists cited also denied that the Attorney General had provided them with the information.
When in April 2024 it became known that Sánchez's wife was under investigation, the president cancelled his public commitments for five days and announced that he would reflect on his political future. He accused his political and media enemies of launching a "harassment and takedown operation" against his family, but decided to remain in office.
Source: ERT