Judge bars Begoña Gómez, spouse of Spain's government president, from leaving the country on corruption charges
A Spanish court has ordered the surrender of Begoña Gómez's passport and her monthly appearance before the judge whilst proceedings continue over alleged corruption offences.
Judge bars Begoña Gómez, spouse of Spain's government president, from leaving the country on corruption charges
A Spanish court has ordered that Begoña Gómez, spouse of government president Pedro Sánchez, cannot leave the country. The judiciary required her to surrender her passport and established that she must appear twice a month before the judge until the case is resolved, according to reports from the AP news agency and information published on the Telex.hu portal.
The judicial decision includes instructions to all border posts, civil and military airports to enforce the prohibition on leaving the country. No date has yet been set for the start of the trial proceedings.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado lodged formal charges against Gómez in April for the alleged offences of embezzlement, abuse of office, corruption in business and unlawful misappropriation of funds. The investigation was opened in 2024 to determine whether the person under investigation inappropriately used her position, something that both she and Sánchez himself deny.
The case centres on the creation and management of a department at the Complutense University of Madrid, where Gómez served as co-director. The investigation seeks to clarify whether she used public resources and personal contacts to promote private interests.
Sánchez has rejected the accusations against his wife, asserting that they form part of attempts by the right to weaken his executive. For their part, opposition parties have demanded the resignation of the head of the executive.
Source: Telex