Spanish prime minister’s wife Begona Gomez charged with corruption

Begona Gomez has been accused of bribery, embezzlement of public funds and misappropriation after a two-year investigation into multiple aspects of her professional life. Photo / Getty Images

The wife of Spain’s Prime Minister has been charged with corruption.

Begona Gomez is accused of bribery, embezzlement of public funds and misappropriation after a two-year investigation into multiple aspects of her professional life.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who closed the probe on Monday, concluded that she influenced public-sector institutions by leveraging her status as wife of PM Pedro Sanchez, who has been in power since 2018.

Spain’s left-wing Government has dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated “fishing expedition”.

Gomez has denied any wrongdoing and can appeal to have the accusations dropped.

The charges come at an embarrassing time for the Prime Minister. A week ago, his former Transport Minister went on trial, also for corruption.

Jose Luis Abalos is accused of receiving kickbacks on sales of PPE to government departments during the Covid-19 pandemic.

When Gomez was placed under investigation in April 2024, Sanchez took a five-day leave of absence from public duties to reflect on how to respond to what he called slurs from a “mud-flinging machine”, which he says comprises right-wing media outlets and conservative members of the judiciary.

Sanchez elected to continue in power but has seen a series of corruption cases sprout up around family members and socialist politicians.

His wife’s case centres on allegations that she used her position to secure a post at Madrid’s Complutense University in charge of Master’s degrees in business studies.

Although Judge Peinado has found no evidence that Gomez benefitted directly from professional connections owing to her position, he argued that her associate on the Master’s courses, businessman Juan Carlos Barrabes, had been given preferential access to public contracts.

Barrabes has also been charged, as has Gomez’s personal assistant.

In his resolution, Judge Peinado claimed the conduct was unprecedented in Spain’s democratic era and was “more typical of absolutist regimes”.

Speaking for the Government, Justice Minister Felix Bolanos accused the judge of carrying out a witch hunt, which he expected an appeal court to overturn.

“I think the damage that has been done to the reputation of our justice system is in many ways irreparable,” Bolanos said.

Judge Peinado, who at the age of 71 is on the verge of mandatory retirement, made a point of visiting the prime ministerial residence of La Moncloa to interview Sanchez and other government officials.

David Sanchez, the Prime Minister’s brother, is also set to go on trial next month after allegedly drawing a salary from a phantom public post created by local government officials.

Sanchez denies wrongdoing.

- Daily Telegraph UK