A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released on June 20, 2026. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado instructed Gomez to surrender her passport and appear before the court twice monthly until a verdict is reached. The court stated that instructions would be issued to all border posts and civilian and military airports to enforce the travel ban. No trial date has been set yet.
Charges and Allegations
In April, Peinado formally charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings, and misappropriation of funds. The investigation, opened in April 2024, focuses on whether Gomez exploited her position as the prime minister's wife for private gain. Both Gomez and Sanchez deny the allegations. The case centers on the creation and management of a chair at Madrid's Complutense University, co-directed by Gomez, and alleged misuse of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests. The judge wrote that the chair served as a means of private professional development for the person under investigation. The complaint originated from an anti-corruption group with far-right ties.
Political Fallout
The case is one of several corruption affairs involving the Socialist leader's family and former allies, threatening his minority coalition government. When the investigation opened in April 2024, Sanchez temporarily suspended his public duties to consider resigning. He has dismissed the allegations as a right-wing attempt to undermine his government. Former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was placed under formal investigation last month for suspected influence peddling in connection with a 2021 bailout of small airline Plus Ultra. Zapatero denies the allegations, and Sanchez expressed full support for his mentor. Verdicts are pending in separate corruption trials of Sanchez's former right-hand man Jose Luis Abalos and his brother David Sanchez. Sanchez vowed to clean up Spanish politics when he took office in 2018 after the conservative Popular Party was convicted in its own graft case. The conservative and far-right opposition demand Sanchez's resignation and early elections, but he insists on serving his term until 2027.
