Key facts
- Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, will stand trial on influence peddling and embezzlement charges.
- An investigating judge ordered Gómez and her aide Cristina Álvarez to face trial.
- The case alleges Gómez used public resources and government staff for private interests.
- Gómez denies wrongdoing.
- Spain's public prosecutor believes the evidence does not establish a criminal offense.
- Private prosecutor Hazte Oír seeks 13 years in prison for Gómez.
Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is set to stand trial on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement. Investigating Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gómez and her aide Cristina Álvarez to face trial, following a decision by Madrid’s Provincial Court in July to clear the way for proceedings. The case alleges that Gómez leveraged her relationship and public resources to advance her career and co-direct a university program, while also using government staff for private interests. Gómez has denied any wrongdoing.
The proceedings are part of a series of scandals affecting Sánchez's government. Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has faced scrutiny over a €53-million pandemic bailout, and Socialist official Santos Cerdán is under investigation for alleged kickbacks in a public contract probe. Both Zapatero and Cerdán deny wrongdoing.
The case against Gómez will now move to a higher court to set a hearing date. Spain's public prosecutor has stated that the evidence does not establish a criminal offense, and defense teams are seeking acquittals. However, Hazte Oír, an ultra-Catholic group acting as a private prosecutor, is seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Gómez. Her lawyer, Jaime Campaner, has argued that the private prosecutor's indictment has serious technical defects and should be dismissed.