ANALYSIS
Spain: Socialist prime minister's wife, Begoña Gómez, will stand trial for embezzlement and influence peddling in university case
The 67-page ruling concludes the preliminary investigation phase and refers the case to the Provincial Court of Madrid, which will be responsible for appointing the court that will preside over the trial by jury and setting the date for the hearing.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife, Begoña Gómez.
On Monday, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the order to proceed to trial against Begoña Gómez Fernández, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, accused of embezzlement of public funds and influence peddling in connection with the creation and management of a special professorship at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), one of Spain's leading public universities.
In the same case, Cristina Álvarez, her advisor at La Moncloa, the official residence of the prime minister, is charged with embezzlement.
The private prosecutors, led by the Hazte Oír association (a Spanish conservative group), are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Begoña Gómez and a six-year prison sentence and disqualification from public office for Cristina Álvarez. The prosecution and the defense teams for Gómez and Álvarez, on the other hand, maintain their request for acquittal and have argued that the facts do not constitute a criminal offense.
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The 67-page ruling concludes the preliminary investigation phase and refers the case to the Provincial Court of Madrid, which will be responsible for appointing the panel to preside over the jury trial and setting the date for the oral hearing.
Peinado has ordered them to "remain at the disposal" of the court and the trial panel at all times, and to "report any change of address or whereabouts." They are also required to "appear whenever summoned."
In June, Peinado ordered the commencement of the trial for the first time and confiscated the defendants' passports; in this new order, he did not impose any precautionary measures, in line with the decision of the Provincial Court, which had previously revoked those measures.
However, the judge did order an investigation into Begoña Gómez's financial capacity through the Judicial Neutral Point, the General Council of the Judiciary's (CGPJ) portal through which courts access data from the tax authorities and other registries. Her last five income tax returns must be submitted through this channel, in anticipation of potential financial liabilities should she be convicted.
What crimes will be charged against whom
According to the order to open the case, Begoña Gómez will stand trial on charges of:
- A crime of influence peddling committed by a private individual, in connection with the creation of a "tailor-made special professorship" at the UCM and her appointment as co-director.
- A crime of embezzlement of public funds, both for the use of public funds for the private purposes of a public employee (her advisor Cristina Álvarez) and for the misappropriation of software developed within the chair.
Cristina Álvarez is charged solely with embezzlement, as a necessary accomplice, "exclusively in connection with the misappropriation of the software," according to the court order.
Both will have to "be held directly and jointly liable" for the financial loss that the Complutense University has quantified at 113,509.32 euros (approximately $130,200).
Next steps: Closing arguments and appointing the panel of judges
The case, which has had significant political and media repercussions since the self-styled union Manos Limpias (which acts as a private prosecutor in corruption cases) filed the initial complaint more than two years ago, has thus become one of the first jury trials in Spain to directly involve the wife of the current prime minister.
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