New blow for Sanchez: Wife before jury on embezzlement charges

The wife of the Spanish prime minister will be tried by a jury on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement, a court ruled today, dealing a fresh blow to a government that has been beset for months by corruption investigations and scandals.

Begonja Gomez's defense team has filed an appeal, asking the Madrid High Court to dismiss the charges, which she denies, and lift other measures imposed on her by a lower court last month.

A Madrid court dismissed a third charge against Gomez, for business corruption, and overturned a lower court decision that had banned her from leaving the country, ordered her to report to court regularly and surrender her passport.

However, most of the proceedings against her have been stayed, representing the most serious legal challenge faced by the family and close associates of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

State prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the charges, which were based on a complaint by far-right groups who accused Gomez of using her position as the prime minister's wife to secure business contracts.

Sanchez, who briefly considered resigning in April 2024 after investigative judge Juan Carlos Peinado opened an investigation against Gomez, has publicly defended his family, claiming that the actions are politically motivated and that his opponents are behind them.

"Begonja Gomez is innocent," Sanchez's office said today.

"Anyone familiar with this investigation knows that this is a politically motivated case, stemming from a false report by a far-right organization, based on fake news, whose sole aim is to harass and persecute the Prime Minister's wife."

Earlier this week, a court convicted Sanchez's brother of misconduct in public office and banned him from holding public office for nine years.

However, Thursday's decision confirmed that Gomez will be tried by a jury of citizens, a procedure reserved in Spain for a limited number of crimes, including influence peddling.

Data from the General Council of the Judiciary shows that juries deliver guilty verdicts in the vast majority of cases. The conviction rate over the past decade has hovered around 90 percent, while in 2024 it was approximately 89,5 percent.

According to the Spanish Criminal Code, a private individual convicted of trading in influence can receive a prison sentence of six months to two years, while embezzlement can be punished with up to eight years in prison in more serious cases.