A Spanish court has ordered Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury on corruption charges and barred her from leaving the country, according to a court order issued on Saturday.
The case is one of several corruption scandals involving the Socialist leader’s family and former allies, threatening to topple his minority coalition government.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to surrender her passport and appear in court twice a month pending a decision on the case. it was said in the decision.
The court said “instructions will be issued to all border points and civilian and military airports” to ensure Gomez complies with the ban on leaving the country.
No date has been set for the politically explosive trial.
Peinado in April formally charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.
He opened investigations in April 2024 to determine whether Gomez had used her position as Sanchez’s wife for private gain, which she and the prime minister deny.
The case centers on the creation and management of a chair at the Complutense University of Madrid that was co-chaired by Gomez, as well as the alleged use of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests.
The chair served as a private professional development tool for the person under investigation,” the judge wrote when charging Gomez.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by an anti-corruption group with far-right ties.
Other corruption trials
When the investigation into Gomez was opened in April 2024, Sanchez temporarily suspended his public duties for several days to consider whether to remain in office.
Gomez has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Sanchez has dismissed the allegations against his wife as a right-wing attempt to undermine his government.
Spain’s former socialist prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, was placed under official investigation last month on suspicion of influence peddling in connection with the 2021 bailout of small airline Plus Ultra.
Zapatero has denied the accusations, while Sanchez has expressed “full support” for his mentor.
Verdicts are also expected in separate corruption trials of Sanchez’s former right-hand man, Jose Luis Abalos, and his brother David Sanchez.
Sanchez vowed to clean up Spanish politics when he took power in 2018 after the main conservative People’s Party was condemned over its corruption scandal.
The conservative and far-right opposition have called for Sanchez’s resignation and early elections, but the prime minister insists he will see out his term until 2027.
(aw)
