Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado has ruled that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, will stand trial.
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Cristina Álvarez, who works with Gómez, has also been sent to trial in the same proceedings.
The decision was made on Monday, following a ruling by the Madrid Provincial Court in July that allowed the judicial proceedings to continue.
The investigation focuses on suspicions that Gómez may have used her relationship with Prime Minister Sánchez to support her professional activities and become involved in running a program at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Authorities are also verifying whether she used public resources and government administration employees for private purposes.
Gómez has rejected all the accusations, denying that she broke the law.
The proceedings against her are taking place at a delicate moment for Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish Socialist Party.
In recent months, various investigations and proceedings have also involved other people linked to the Socialists.
Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been summoned to answer questions about €53 million in state aid granted during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Santos Cerdán, a former senior official of the Socialist Party, has been investigated over suspicions of illegal benefits linked to public contracts and former minister José Luis Ábalos.
Both Zapatero and Cerdán have denied any wrongdoing.
The case against Begoña Gómez is now entering the trial phase, while the court will set the dates for the hearings.
Spain’s public prosecutor’s office has requested that the charges against Gómez be dismissed, arguing that the evidence gathered does not prove that a criminal offense was committed. Her defense has taken the same position.
Hazte Oír, a conservative Catholic organization taking part in the proceedings as a private prosecutor, is seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Gómez.
Her lawyer, Jaime Campaner, has challenged the organization’s claims, saying that the indictment contains “serious technical deficiencies” that cannot be remedied at this stage of the proceedings.
For this reason, the defense has requested that the case be closed and archived.
It is now up to the court to decide whether the proceedings will continue and whether the defendants bear any potential liability. The charges against them do not constitute a final guilty verdict.
