Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish prime minister, investigated in corruption case

Begoña Gómez, wife of socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is under official investigation. A Spanish judge opened a case, although she was not summoned to testify. This was revealed in the proceedings of Judge Juan Carlos Peinado on the case of alleged influence peddling and corruption in the businesses surrounding Sánchez's wife.

Gómez has been in the spotlight for months for allegedly holding meetings with several private companies, such as Globalia and Air Europa, which later ended up receiving funds and public contracts from the Spanish government.

"Without prejudice to the fact that, at the present procedural moment, the statement of the investigated person is not agreed upon, and given that said procedural condition is attributed to her, it is considered, for the purposes of avoiding the defenselessness proscribed in article 24 of the Spanish Constitution, it is necessary that this order be transferred to her," says the resolution, which appears in the summary of the case which Spanish newspaper ABC obtained.

According to ABC, the judicial order also "directs the investigation against Begoña Gómez as a possible participant in the events investigated, which could constitute a crime of influence peddling and a crime of corruption in business, without prejudice to the fact that, of the results of the investigations carried out, other people may participate."

With the information known this Tuesday, it is also confirmed that the prime minister's wife learned of the investigation on the same day, April 24, on which her husband reported that he would take five days to think about whether he would remain in office after learning of the accusations against his wife.

After five days, Sánchez announced that he would remain in office and threatened to make reforms to, according to him, strengthen Spanish democracy. "I assume the decision, if possible, to continue with my work," said the socialist.

Meanwhile, the socialist leader also considered that the accusations against his wife are the result of a smear campaign against him. His speech focused almost exclusively on condemning these alleged practices. "It is a campaign of discredit, we have been suffering from it for years," said the prime minister.

Since then, Begoña Gómez has been discussed throughout the media in Spain. In the configuration of the Spanish state, the wife of the prime minister does not have any duties such as those of the U.S. first lady, given that Pedro Sánchez is not head of state.

However, Begoña Gómez stood out more than other prime ministers' spouses, especially during international events such as the NATO Summit in Madrid in 2022 or the Third Meeting of the European Political Community in Granada in 2023. On both occasions, Gómez actively participated in the organization of these gatherings.