Spanish Government President's Brother Barred from Public Office for Nine Years Over Misconduct
David Sánchez, brother of Pedro Sánchez, has been sanctioned with nine years' prohibition from holding public office after being found guilty of administrative misconduct in Badajoz.
Spanish Government President's Brother Barred from Public Office for Nine Years Over Misconduct
A court in the city of Badajoz has imposed a nine-year disqualification from public office on David Sánchez, brother of Spain's chief executive, after finding him responsible for administrative misconduct. During this period, he will be barred from holding positions in public administration and will also be unable to run as a candidate in elections.
The proceedings took place last month in the lower court. The judge cleared the defendant of the allegation of influence-peddling. The court ruling, made public on Tuesday, convicted him as a necessary participant through cooperation in the administrative misconduct offence.
The events under investigation date from 2017, when a job position was allegedly created in Badajoz's provincial administration—at that time controlled by the PSOE—to be filled by David Sánchez. At that time, Pedro Sánchez already led the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, although he did not yet hold the presidency of the Government.
In the same proceedings, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, a former leader of the PSOE in Extremadura, was also sanctioned with two nine-year disqualifications for two counts of administrative misconduct. Gallardo was likewise acquitted of the charge of influence-peddling.
It is notable that the Public Prosecution Service had requested the acquittal of all eleven defendants in its final submissions, citing lack of evidence for the facts. According to the Public Ministry, it was established during oral proceedings that the position for which David Sánchez was appointed already existed previously.
David Sánchez, whose profession is that of composer and orchestra conductor, had been appointed by Badajoz's administration as responsible for coordinating the conservatories in the region.
The case originated from a lawsuit filed by the "Manos Limpas" association, an organisation linked to the far right, which acted as private prosecutor along with the political parties Vox and the People's Party. All the private prosecutions—seven in total—demanded custodial sentences for the eleven defendants.
The same organisation that filed the lawsuit against David Sánchez filed another that led to the opening, in 2024, of an investigation against Begoña Gómez, spouse of Pedro Sánchez, for alleged offences of influence-peddling and corruption, a case that remains open.
Source: ECO
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)