BARCELONA, Spain – In a landmark ruling that has upended Spanish politics just months ahead of a scheduled general election, an investigative judge ordered Saturday that Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, must stand trial on charges of influence peddling, public corruption, and misuse of public funds. The judge also imposed restrictive pre-trial conditions, including the surrender of Gómez’s passport and mandatory bi-weekly court appearances, over concerns that she poses a flight risk. A formal trial date has not yet been scheduled.
Investigative magistrate Juan Carlos Peinado confirmed that two other co-defendants – a businessman accused of benefiting from the improperly awarded government contracts, and a consultant hired by Gómez – will also face trial alongside the prime minister’s spouse. The charges against Gómez outline three separate alleged offenses: abuse of her position as the prime minister’s wife to steer lucrative public technology contracts to a specific group of firms, misappropriation of public money to fund an unapproved consultant hire, and unauthorized use of institutional software during her tenure as a professor at a Spanish public university.
Gómez has repeatedly and vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Prime Minister Sánchez, whose left-leaning Socialist government has held office since 2018, has denounced the entire investigation as a coordinated politically motivated smear campaign orchestrated by his conservative opponents to force his government from power. The two-year probe was initially initiated after accusations were filed by Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a right-aligned pressure group that has launched dozens of high-profile legal actions targeting left-wing Spanish politicians.
Saturday’s ruling has immediately ignited a fierce national political confrontation, with opposition leaders demanding the immediate resignation of Sánchez’s government and calling for snap general elections. Miguel Tellado, secretary-general of the main conservative opposition party the People’s Party, framed the decision as evidence of systemic institutional failure under the current government. “Lawmakers and the architects of our constitution could never have imagined that the threats to our democracy could originate from the Spanish government itself,” Tellado said. “Now we see how the government attacks judges, prosecutors and the media while attempting to silence opposition parties. This is unthinkable in any modern democracy.”
In response, Socialist Party officials and government representatives have pushed back hard, dismissing the ruling as a politically motivated attack that undermines Spain’s democratic institutions. The party issued a formal statement calling the court decision “an absolute scandal for democracy”, adding: “Begoña Gómez is innocent. For two years now, she has been the target of a political and judicial witch hunt. Today’s development is just the latest escalation.”
The corruption case against Gómez is just the latest in a string of legal troubles facing Sánchez and the Socialist Party ahead of the mandatory general election scheduled to take place by 2024. Earlier this week, former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was summoned to testify before a separate judge in connection with an investigation into an alleged improper government airline bailout. Zapatero was also questioned over the discovery of high-end jewelry seized during a police raid on his office; he has denied all wrongdoing in the case.
Sánchez, a prominent European critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump, now faces mounting pressure from across the political aisle as the legal drama surrounding his spouse continues to unfold, deepening divisions in the Spanish political landscape ahead of next year’s vote.