Spanish prime minister's wife to stand trial on corruption charges denied to leave the country

A judge in Spain has decided that Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife face trial on corruption charges and has prevented her from leaving the country, reports Thegardian.

Begoña Gómez was previously charged, following a two-year investigation, for misuse of funds, exercise of illegal influence, corruption in business relations and misuse of funds.

Gómez, 55, denies any legal violations in the case, which began after a premonition by the Manos Limmias (“deed Clean”), an organisation that presents itself union and has links to the extreme right.

The judge of the case, Juan Carlos Peinado, ordered Gómez to hand over his passport, prevented him from leaving Spain and forced him to appear in court twice a month, according to a court order published on Saturday. It will be tried by a jury to a date that has not yet been determined.

Sánchez has repeatedly described the matter against his wife as groundless and politically motivated. The prime minister, one of the most vocal leftist leaders in Europe, has accused his political and media opponents of targeting his family and has publicly questioned the impartiality of some members of the judicial system.

The Socialist Party reacted immediately to the judge's decision, writing at X: “ (Begoña) has faced judicial and political persecution for two years. Today's development is another step in that process. ”

This issue is one of several corruption investigations that have put Sánchez in trouble, which came to power in 2018, promising to end corruption involving the People's Party (PP), then in power.

Now, some investigations involving Sánchez's family and his former senior political associates risk undermining the government.

Sánchez himself has not been appointed as a suspect in either case, but his brother, David, is accused of exercising illegal influence, while former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos is accused of taking bribes in public contracts. Both deny the accusations.

One of the potentially harmful issues is that against former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero a key figure of the Spanish left who was put under investigation last month on charges of exercising illegal influence.

Zapatero, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2011, defended his innocence during this week's hearing sessions.