Spanish court orders trial of president's wife on corruption charges and bans her from leaving the country
A Spanish court ordered that Pedro Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, stand trial on corruption charges and banned her from leaving the country.
Spanish court orders trial of president's wife on corruption charges and bans her from leaving the country
A Spanish court ordered that the wife of President Pedro Sánchez, Begoña Gómez, stand trial on corruption charges and banned her from leaving the country, according to a ruling published on Saturday.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gómez to surrender her passport and report to authorities twice a month until a verdict is reached in the case. All border posts and civil and military airports were given orders to ensure compliance with the ban on Gómez leaving the country.
Peinado filed formal charges against Gómez in April for embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption and misappropriation of state assets. The investigation launched in April 2024 seeks to determine whether Gómez used her position as Sánchez's spouse to obtain personal benefits, something that both she and the president deny.
At the centre of the case is the creation and management of a chair at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, co-directed by Gómez, and the alleged use of public funds and personal contacts to promote private interests. According to the judge, the chair was an instrument for the personal professional development of the subject of the investigation.
The complaint was filed by an anti-corruption group linked to the far right. When the investigation into Gómez opened in April 2024, Sánchez temporarily suspended his public duties for several days to assess whether he would remain in office. Gómez has consistently denied breaking any law. Sánchez has characterised the charges against his wife as an attempt by the right to destabilise his government.
This is one of several corruption cases affecting the socialist leader's family and former allies, threatening to bring down his minority coalition. The date of the politically explosive trial has not yet been set.
Verdicts are also expected in separate corruption proceedings against Sánchez's former right-hand man, José Luis Ábalos, and his brother David Sánchez. Last month an official investigation was opened against former socialist president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling related to the rescue of small airline Plus Ultra in 2021. Zapatero has denied the charges, while Sánchez has expressed his full support for his mentor.
Sánchez promised to clean up Spanish politics when he came to power in 2018, following the conservative People's Party (PP) being convicted in a corruption scandal. The conservative and far-right opposition has called for Sánchez's resignation and early elections, but the president maintains he will serve until the end of his term in 2027.
Source: ERR