Embattled Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces further familial controversy as his wife, Begoña Gómez, was charged with allegedly embezzling public funds.
First Lady Gómez was charged by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado this week with embezzlement and has been ordered to appear before his court in September. The accusations centre around her assistant, Cristina Álvarez, who has also been charged with the same crime.
While it is customary for Spanish first ladies to receive an assistant from the Palace of Moncloa — the prime minister’s office — Gómez faces accusations that Álvarez carried out non-governmental work for her while she held an academic position at Madrid’s Complutense University, which would have represented a misallocation of government funds, broadcaster SER reported.
The first lady also faces accusations of “influence peddling” by using her position as the wife of PM Sánchez to advance her career. Gómez was forced to appear before Judge Peinado on separate charges of influence peddling earlier this year over government contracts handed out to her business associates.
The latest charges will undoubtedly intensify the pressure on the socialist prime minister, whose administration has been dogged by corruption scandals, including Santos Cerdán, one of the highest-ranking members of Sánchez’s Socialist Party, being arrested last month on suspicion of bribery and influence peddling.
The scandal deepened after leaked audio recordings purportedly of Cerdán’s aide, Koldo García, and former Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos allegedly revealed them discussing kickbacks from government contracts and bribery schemes. Additionally, the two top socialist party figures also allegedly discussed hiring foreign prostitutes with government funds for private parties, while ranking the women based on their sexual prowess.
Prime Minister Sánchez and his wife were further accused in Parliament last month by opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of having benefited from the profits of alleged homosexual brothels said to have been run by Gómez’s late father, who is claimed to have previously paid for the couple’s apartment.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s brother, David Sánchez, also faces accusations of embezzlement and influence peddling over his government position as regional music director; a job that was allegedly created for the sole purpose of employing the Prime Minister’s brother.
The case was lodged off the back of a complaint filed by the trade unionist anti-corruption group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), the same group which sparked the investigations into First Lady Gomez.
The charge against his wife may imperil the Prime Minister’s faltering government, which is only in power based on a controversial coalition made with Catalonian separatists after Sánchez lost the last election in 2023.
Amid the initial accusations against his wife, Sánchez sparked speculation last year that he may resign after abruptly announcing that he was taking several days off to contemplate his future. However, he ultimately returned and denounced the right-wing “mud machine” supposedly targeting him and his family.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here