A Spanish judge investigating alleged misuse of public funds by the Spanish PM's wife has concluded his investigation and ordered Begoña Gomez to stand trial, AFP reported, citing court documents.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado believes that an assistant appointed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's office to assist his wife also helped her in her outside professional activities while she was running a master's program at the Complutense University in Madrid.
The ruling is subject to appeal and is not final.
According to court documents, the judge believes that the duties of the "assistant" position of the prime minister's wife "include managing her schedule and correspondence, providing security and protocol support during all trips and organizing meetings or appearances in her capacity as the prime minister's wife".
"Insufficient evidence", however, suggests that Begoña Gómez may have wanted more from her assistant, especially regarding "her ties with companies in the "Barabes Group", run by a businessman who may have financed her master's program.
"This would constitute a clear deviation from the performance of her function as a temporary employee of the administration", said the judge, who also requested that the assistant in question, as well as the person who hired her, be brought to trial.
Furthermore, he believes that "the pre-existing personal friendship" between Begoña Gómez and her assistant, "the reason for her appointment to a position requiring very high trust", could constitute "misuse of public resources for personal gain".
Begoña Gómez was heard several times by this judge and during her last hearing on September 10, she denied any misuse of funds, assuring that she only asked her assistant to send a few messages "from time to time". The prime minister's wife stressed that her assistant had never helped her in her professional duties.
Since April 2024, Begoña Gómez has also been investigated for corruption and influence peddling. Ms. Gomez, who until the start of the 2024 academic year directed a master's program in management, is suspected of using her husband's position to her advantage to gain funding, mainly from businessman Juan Carlos Barabes, AFP noted.