Begoňa Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, handed in her passport on Wednesday at the courthouse in Madrid’s Plaza de Castilla. In doing so, she complied with the order of investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who ruled over the weekend that she would be tried for alleged crimes of influence peddling, business corruption, misappropriation of public funds and unjust enrichment. Apart from handing in his passport, he is banned from leaving Spain and must report to court every two weeks.
TASR informs about this with reference to the public broadcaster RTVE and the news portal Democrata.es. Gómez entered the courthouse accompanied by her lawyer through an underground garage, which was allowed by Spanish judge María Jesús del Barcová at the request of the security department of the government office, according to which there was “a potential threat to her physical integrity”. She handed over the travel document shortly after 6:00 p.m.
In addition to Gómez, her personal assistant Cristina Álvarez and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés are also being investigated in this case. According to the indictment, it was he who benefited from Gómez’s influence. Álvarez also had to surrender her passport and is subject to the same movement restrictions. Gómez’s lawyer filed a pending appeal against all three of the judge’s orders.
Peinado justified his decision by claiming that police protection could help her escape, which provoked sharp criticism from the government, police unions and representatives of the judiciary. The judge went on to say that all border crossings and civilian and military airports will be instructed to ensure Gómez complies with the travel ban. On Monday, the General Judicial Council (CGPJ) also dealt with Peinad’s procedure, which decided that he would be examined by a disciplinary body.
Peinado began investigating Gómez back in April 2024 based on allegations of corruption and influence peddling by several organizations, including the far-right Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) association. They claimed that Gómez signed several letters of recommendation for companies that eventually received state aid or contracts. Begoňa Gómezová is a marketing expert and rarely appears in public, except for charity events and fashion shows.
Until 2018, when her husband became prime minister, she was a consultant at Grupo Inmark. She then worked until 2022 as executive director of the Africa Center at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. She handed in her passport on the day that Prime Minister Sánchez spoke in parliament regarding several corruption scandals in his immediate environment. Without naming Judge Peinad, he called the ordered measures “unreasonable” and questioning the work of the police and thousands of civil servants.
He emphasized that he considers the accusations against his wife unfounded and the current situation as part of a coercive campaign. He expressed confidence in the justice system, but noted that some of its decisions were “difficult to understand.”
Pedro Sánchez with his wife.
Source:
TASR/AP
