A Spanish court on Saturday barred the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, from leaving Spain ahead of her trial over corruption charges. Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the ruling to Gomez, who faces charges of embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds. Carlos ordered her to hand over her passport and appear in front of the court twice a month until a verdict was declared.
Gomez has repeatedly denied the allegations, which was first raised by an anti-corruption group with far-right associations. The accusations focused on the creation and management of a chair at Madrid’s Complutense University which was co-directed by Gomez, and the alleged use of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests.
Prime Minister Sanchez defended his wife and accused the right-wing of trying to undermine his government. His Socialist Party has also said Gomez was innocent and was victim to a years-long campaign of political persecution.
The date for the trial is yet to be confirmed.
Sanchez has been under scrutiny over the recent months due to multiple corruption investigations involving his allies which are either approaching trial or are already before the courts. Many of his allies, including the Socialist Party’s number three and Sanchez’s former Transport Minister, Jose Luis Abalos, are currently under investigation in cases related to fraudulent public contracts for sanitary equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a separate case, Spanish High Court confirmed it was investigating former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero over allegations that he led a network which profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties, including Plus Ultra airlines. Zapatero has also denied the allegations.
While Sanchez has not been named in any of the cases, there have been rising calls from opposition forces for his resignation and early elections, which he has rejected.
