A Spanish court has ordered Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to stand trial on multiple corruption charges and has barred her from leaving Spain, requiring her to surrender her passport and report to court twice a month. The case concerns an academic chair at Madrid's Complutense University and allegations that public resources and personal connections were used to advance private interests. Prosecutors and Gómez's defence have sought dismissal, while the accusation came from an anti-corruption group linked to the far right; Sánchez denies the claims and calls them politically motivated.
Spanish Court Orders Trial for Prime Minister’s Wife — Passport Seized and Travel Ban Enforced
Wife of Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has passport revoked as court orders corruption trial
A Spanish court has ordered that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, stand trial on multiple corruption charges and barred her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado instructed Gómez to surrender her passport and to appear at court twice a month until a verdict is reached. In April, the judge formally charged her with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.
The court applied the same precautionary travel restrictions to Cristina Álvarez, an adviser at the Moncloa Palace, and ordered that "instructions shall be issued to all border posts and civilian and military airports" to enforce the ban. The third defendant, businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, is not subject to those travel restrictions.
Sources close to Gómez say she will appeal the precautionary measures, including the confiscation of her passport. The decision follows a preliminary hearing in which the accusing parties requested a jury trial and asked for measures to reduce any flight risk. By contrast, both the Public Prosecutor's Office and the defence teams asked for the case to be dismissed, saying there is insufficient evidence to sustain criminal charges.
The investigation centres on the creation and management of an academic chair at Madrid's Complutense University that Gómez co-directed, and on allegations that public resources and personal connections were used to advance private interests. The probe, opened in April 2024, seeks to determine whether Gómez exploited her status as the prime minister’s spouse for private gain.
"The chair served as a means of private professional development for the person under investigation," the judge wrote when he filed charges.
The case has sparked intense legal and political controversy. It originated from a complaint lodged by an anti-corruption group with ties to the far right, and Sánchez has dismissed the accusations as politically motivated, saying they are an attempt to undermine his government. The affair is one of several corruption-related controversies involving the Socialist leader’s family and former allies that threaten the stability of his minority coalition, but Sánchez has refused calls to resign or call early elections.
Next steps include Gómez's planned appeal of the precautionary measures and the scheduling of the jury trial if the court proceeds. The outcome could have significant political repercussions for Sánchez and his governing coalition.
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