The wife of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has been banned from leaving the country, a judge ruled on Saturday.
Begoña Gómez is under investigation over allegations she used her position as the prime minister’s wife to secure work contracts. She denies any wrongdoing. The case was brought by far-right groups.
Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gómez to surrender her passport, barred her from leaving Spain, and required her to report to court twice a month.
A Prime Minister Under Pressure
The case is one of several corruption probes nearing or already at trial that are weighing on Sánchez, one of Europe’s few remaining leftist leaders. He has not been named in any of the cases and has said they are part of a campaign to remove him from office.
Several close allies, including the Socialist Workers’ Party’s No. 3 and Sánchez’s former transport minister, are under investigation in cases involving alleged kickbacks linked to public works, oil and gas contracts, and the procurement of masks during the pandemic. They deny wrongdoing.
Separately, Spain’s High Court said it was investigating former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over allegations he led a network that profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties, including airline Plus Ultra. He denies the claims.
The Case Against Gómez
Gómez’s case was brought by far-right groups, which have targeted Sánchez’s government since he came to power. The allegations center on whether Gómez used her influence as the prime minister’s wife to secure work contracts for companies she was associated with.
The judge’s ruling to send her to trial is a significant legal development, as it moves the case from investigation to prosecution. The order to surrender her passport and report to court regularly indicates the court considers her a flight risk, though she is not in custody.
Sánchez’s Response
Sánchez has consistently defended his wife and dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. He has portrayed the legal actions as part of a broader campaign by conservative and far-right forces to destabilize his government.
The prime minister has not been charged with any crime, and his office has emphasized that the cases against his allies and family are separate from his own conduct. However, the accumulation of corruption probes has created a challenging political environment for his minority government.
The Bottom Line
A Spanish judge has ruled that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, must stand trial on corruption charges over allegations she used her position to secure work contracts. She has been banned from leaving the country and ordered to report to court twice a month. Sánchez has denied the allegations and called the case a political campaign against him. Several of his close allies are also under investigation in separate corruption cases.
