Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Wife Ordered to Face Jury Trial

Investigating magistrate Juan Carlos Peinado issued an order on Monday that Begoña Gómez, spouse of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and her former Moncloa aide Cristina Álvarez must stand trial before a popular jury on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds. The order closes the pre-trial phase and sends the case to the Madrid Provincial Court, where, under Spain’s jury law, it cannot be appealed. Peinado noted that Álvarez’s failure to attend a preliminary hearing on September 8 constituted deliberate defiance. The judge’s decision follows a July 16 ruling that dismissed two of the four original charges and separated businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés into a distinct proceeding.

Brussels Signal

The prosecution alleges that Gómez used her position to secure a university chair at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) in 2020, channeling public money into a software development project and transferring the project’s internet domain to a private company she created in July 2023. UCM reported losses of €113,509 and is seeking damages from both defendants. The ultra-Catholic association Hazte Oír, joined by the Vox party, is pursuing a combined 13-year prison term for Gómez and six years for Álvarez. The case adds to a series of investigations that have embroiled Sánchez’s government, including probes of former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former minister José Luis Ábalos, and Sánchez’s brother David Sánchez, who was barred from public office for nine years.

Politico Europe

The public prosecutor’s office maintains that the evidence does not establish a criminal offense and has asked that the case be dropped. Gómez’s lawyer Jaime Campaner described the indictment as “serious technical defects” that are “incompatible with the law” and urged closure of the proceedings. Science minister Diana Morant questioned whether a jury could remain impartial after two years of intense media coverage. The government at Moncloa condemned the decision as arbitrary and unjust, characterising the investigation as driven solely by Gómez’s status as the prime minister’s spouse.

Brussels Signal

• “This as an arbitrary and unjust investigation that is solely the result of the judicial persecution of Begona Gómez for being the prime minister’s wife,” — Pedro Sánchez’s, spanish prime minister

The Irish Times

The higher court must schedule a hearing date, after which the jury trial will proceed. Judge Peinado has also opened a separate line of inquiry into EU-funded public contracts awarded to firms linked to Juan Carlos Barrabés. No further trial dates have been set.

Brussels Signal