Spanish PM’s wife, Begoña Gómez, summoned to testify in corruption probe

The Madid court said it had summoned Gómez to answer questions ‘as an investigated party’ as part of its preliminary probe into suspected influence peddling and corruption.

The move comes nearly a week after Spain’s public prosecutors’ office recommended the probe be thrown out, but a provincial court ruled that the lower-court judge could continue the investigation. The judge will now either table the probe or recommend it go to trial.

The decision to open the investigation was a setback for Sánchez but a boost for his right-wing and far-right opponents who see it as vindication of their allegations that he and his left-wing government are corrupt.

‘There is evidence that an alleged criminal offence was committed’ which ‘goes beyond mere suspicion’ and was ‘sufficient’ to let the investigation continue, stated court documents.

However, this contradicts a recent Guardia Civil police report that found no evidence of any criminal offence.

The opposition welcomed the summons but government spokeswoman Pilar Alegía said the timing of the move was ‘strange’ coming just days before Sunday’s European Parliament elections in Spain.

‘We know that there is absolutely nothing here,’ she told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting, saying the case was based on ‘lies and disinformation’.

‘What we have here is a mudslinging campaign by the right and the far-right,’ she said, referring to the right-wing opposition People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox.

The court opened the probe into Gómez for suspected influence peddling and corruption on 16 April following a complaint filed by an anti-graft NGO linked to the far-right. ALSO READ: Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish PM, investigated over alleged corruption.

The group, Manos Limpias (‘Clean Hands’) says its complaint is based on media reports. 

‘If they are not true, it would be up to those who published them to admit to their falsehood,’ they said. ‘But if they are true, then we believe that the legal case should continue forward.’

The group has previously filed a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians. 

When the court rejected prosecutors’ request to close the probe last week, it said it was looking into two letters of support Gómez allegedly provided in 2020 for a joint venture bidding for several public contracts.

The joint venture’s main shareholder was consultant Carlos Barrabes, who had ties to a department at Madrid’s Complutense University that was run by Gómez. It won the contracts, beating 20 rivals, and was awarded €10.2 million.

Although it did not represent the cheapest bid, it received top marks in the sections on subjective appraisal, beating all its competitors in the final accounting.

The court also said it was dropping its investigation into Gómez’s alleged ties to the head of Spanish tourism group Globalia when the company was negotiating a bailout for its airline Air Europa during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gómez, 49, has not spoken publicly on the case but Sánchez has decried it as a political bid to ‘harass and discredit’ him by ‘media heavily influenced by the right and far-right’.

When the court initially confirmed the probe, Sánchez said in a shock announcement that he would consider resigning. He took five days to reflect and in the end, decided to stay on. The opposition denounced the move as pure political theatre, saying Sánchez had never had any intention of stepping down. ALSO READ: Pedro Sánchez announces his decision to continue as Spanish prime minister.

Opposition leader and PP head Alberto Núñez Feijóo has said Sánchez should resign over the questions regarding his wife’s business dealings.

‘Spain deserves a worthy premier and Sánchez is not one,’ PP secretary-general Cuca Gamara wrote on X, adding: ‘It’s not mud, it’s corruption.’

Gómez does not hold public office and keeps a low public profile. She did not want to give up her career when her husband became premier in 2018, having been involved in fundraising, particularly for NGOs.

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ALSO READ: Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption investigation against PM’s wife.