by Vladimir Dobrynin
[REGNUM] Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, suspected of "abuse of office," was unable to quietly withdraw from the political scene after the word "corruption" first appeared in the press in connection with her name. And so, she can no longer quietly avoid criminal charges.
Recently, Madrid investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado accepted the complaints filed by the civil society organizations Hazte Oir (Make Yourself Known) and Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), as well as the Vox (Voice) party. If the court upholds the 81-page A4-sized indictment prepared by these organizations' lawyers, Sánchez's wife will face 24 years in prison.
Furthermore, Begoña Gómez may be required to pay a fine equal to twelve times her average monthly income. She will also be banned from holding any public office for 30 years. It is not yet clear whether these years will be counted from the date the sentence is served or from the date the sentence becomes final.
The prime minister's wife faces such a litany of punishments if the court finds evidence of "influence peddling," corruption in business, misappropriation of funds (embezzlement), and "unjustified" (as the press softens the term "illegal") occupation of official position.
What "influence peddling" is requires no explanation, but Begoña's official position deserves some attention. The wife of the Spanish prime minister held the position of lecturer and head of the "competitive social transformation" department at Madrid's prestigious Complutense University. Even Gomez herself, on whose initiative the department was created, couldn't clearly explain the meaning behind this title.
Organizing this project required the prime minister's wife's efforts and financial expenditures. These expenditures, according to information available to the investigation, were assumed by the Madrid-based consulting firm Innova Next SL and the Valley Business School, both owned by businessman Juan Carlos Barrabes. These two organizations later won a pair of public procurement tenders, allegedly thanks to Gómez. The total amount received by Barrabes' firms for "utilization" of funds amounted to €15.6 million.
Investigators say "pressure from above was exerted on university management" to open a department "that was completely unnecessary." It operated for several years and was closed "as having neither scientific nor practical value" immediately after the investigation began. According to El Pais publications, Gómez holds neither an academic degree nor even a university education.
According to investigators, she also embezzled software worth €300,000, paid for with university funds.
Law enforcement agencies are also investigating the Spanish government's 2020 allocation of €450 million to Air Europa, an airline in deep financial crisis. The connection again points to Begoña: the company previously pledged to donate a large sum to a business project she initiated to develop entrepreneurship in Africa. Investigators are scrutinizing the personal and business ties of Pedro Sánchez's wife with the son of Air Europa's owner, Javier Hidalgo.
Against the backdrop of these millions, the accusation that Gomez used the work of the councilor of the Moncloa Palace (the seat of government), Cristina Alvarez, for her personal gain on a government salary seems like a mere trifle.
The European Union Public Prosecutor's Office has also taken an interest in Begoña Gómez's case. According to Madrid lawyer Miguel Ramos, "part of the funds Barrabes received at the insistence of the Prime Minister's wife came from European funds." This gives the prosecutor's office grounds to suspect misuse of the funds received by the businessman.
"In his April 11 ruling, Peinado agreed to complete the investigation and prosecute Gómez and two other individuals under investigation in this case—Cristina Álvarez and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, who won two public tenders from the Spanish Ministry of Digital Development using letters of recommendation signed by Gómez. This step is tantamount to formally filing charges," the press noted.
It didn't take long for government officials to react. Soon, Justice Minister Félix Bolaños, Transport Minister Oscar Puente, the government spokesperson, and the Minister of Social Welfare and Migration Elma Saiz addressed the media. As ESDiario points out, they "took turns launching a vigorous and clearly planned attack on the judge's decision to have Begoña Gómez tried by a jury on four serious charges."
"This was a planned operation aimed at undermining the judge's credibility even before the trial began. And, above all, it laid the foundation for the extremely dangerous strategy Sanchez is considering if his wife is convicted," the media reported.
Justice Minister Bolaños stated that the investigation "has brought shame on many citizens, as well as many judges in the country, and the damage to the good name of the Spanish justice system will undoubtedly be irreparable in many respects. " He called the investigation "extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely dubious" and attempted to butter up Peinado, pointing to him as a pleasant "exception to the majority of Spanish judges."
"An impartial higher court will overturn the decisions of lower courts," the head of the Ministry of Justice expressed confidence.
Puente expressed the categorical opinion that the judge had succumbed to pressure from "extreme right-wing politicians" and joined them in opposing "the people's democratically elected representatives." This rhetoric is no accident.
Often labeled as a far-right party and championing traditional family values, Vox has long been marginalized, much like the AfD in Germany. All political parties in Spain refused to form alliances with Vox, which threatened to sideline it. However, the "Begoña Gómez affair" prompted the major opposition Popular Party (Partido Popular) to collaborate with Vox. Now, Vox has a real chance of winning a seat in the country's government if the right-wing alliance wins the 2027 elections.
Manos Limpias was founded in the mid-1990s as a public servants' union. Its founder and director, Miguel Bernad, is a lawyer with ties to nationalists. He has filed complaints against the legalization of same-sex marriage*, against organizations supporting Catalan sports teams, against union pickets during the metro strike, and has alleged widespread human rights violations against inmates in Catalan prisons.
Furthermore, Bernard demanded criminal prosecution of the King's daughter, Infanta Cristina, for "misuse of funds" by her businessman husband. Miguel sometimes gets confused in his testimony: in 2005, he claimed the organization had won 30% of the cases it filed, while a year later he claimed 70%.
Hazte Oir is an ultra-Catholic and ultra-conservative association. In May 2013, Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz of the People's Party declared it a "public benefit association." In 2019, the Socialist government's Interior Ministry announced the revocation of Hazte Oir's status as a public benefit organization "for belittling or undervaluing alternative ideas about the family."
Unsurprisingly, when mentioning all of these organizations in the media, the label "far-right" or "extremist" is tacitly mandatory. However, tellingly, when covering the situation with Sánchez's wife, publications try to refrain from referring to their "ultra-right" status. After all, the vast majority of newspapers in the Iberian kingdom support the opposition Popular Party (PPP), despite calling themselves "independent publications." Apparently welcoming the scandal that has erupted within the government, they avoid emphasizing the specific image of the plaintiffs, especially when some of them may become allies of the Popular Party.
The general population, however, shows little interest in what's happening. The vast majority of them continue to devote their free time not to media gems like "According to Sánchez, the opening of a trial against his wife would mean that the country's judiciary has carried out an anti-democratic, anti-state coup" but to searching for gas stations where they can fill up cheaply and figuring out Real Madrid's chances of closing the nine-point gap to Barça in the national football championship.
Israel, however, promises to add fuel to the fire of the corruption scandal by pledging to "present information that could have devastating consequences for the Spanish Prime Minister's inner circle" by July 23. Considering that the current Spanish government is arguably the most anti-Israel in Europe, the Jewish state will surely seize the opportunity to get even.
Official Madrid has long and consistently supported the Palestinian people, advocating for the creation of a new Arab state in the region and all possible sanctions against Israel. And, of course, it has actively and strongly opposed the military operation in the Middle East that began this year, calling American and Israeli actions in Iran "unjustified and dangerous." Spain even recalled its ambassador from Israel.
The threats to plant dirt on Sanchez and his entourage may prove hollow, but it's impossible to rule out the possibility of additional, interesting information emerging that the prime minister's political rivals will exploit. They're already baiting him at every opportunity.
None of them forgot how some intermediary firms profited from supplying the Cabinet of Ministers with personal protective equipment during the pandemic, and how the prime minister pushed through financial and military aid to Ukraine without parliamentary approval. It's not that the People's Party vehemently opposed aid to Kyiv, but they're always happy to remind the prime minister of his questionable actions.
According to Spanish political analysts, the trial of the prime minister's wife, to which Pedro Sánchez will be called as a witness, may not begin until next year. Spain will hold parliamentary elections in 2027, and the winning party will form the government. A dramatic conclusion to the corruption scandal with a verdict—even without all the demands of the public prosecutors being met—could mark the end of the Spanish Socialist government.
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