A Madrid investigating judge on Saturday ordered Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to stand trial on four corruption-related counts and imposed precautionary measures, including the withdrawal of her passport, a ban on leaving Spain, and the obligation to appear before the court every 15 days. The same restrictions were applied to Cristina Álvarez, Gómez’s aide at the Moncloa palace, while businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés was also sent to trial on influence-peddling and corruption charges. Judge Juan Carlos Peinado’s 84‑page ruling, issued after Monday’s preliminary hearing, accepted the request for travel restrictions made by the far-right “popular prosecution” group Hazte Oír, which argued a flight risk existed, and overrode the objections of the anti‑corruption prosecutor’s office and the defence, who maintained there were no grounds for the case to proceed.

The decision triggered sharply divergent reactions. Government sources quoted by the EFE agency said the ruling “confirms the persecution, obsession and disproportion” of the judge and insisted his instruction “lacks any legal sense and responds only to political motives.” The Socialist Party (PSOE) called the development “another step in a judicial and political persecution” and launched the hashtag #YoConBegoña. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños described the day as “dismal for those who believe in justice,” while Interior Minister Fernando Grande‑Marlaska formally lodged “the strongest complaint” with the General Council of the Judiciary, objecting to the judge’s assertion that police escorts could “on their own initiative or following orders from hierarchical superiors” facilitate a possible flight. Police trade unions – Jupol, SUP and CEP – labelled the suggestion an “authentic barbarity” and demanded an immediate retraction. On the opposite side, the conservative Partido Popular’s secretary‑general Miguel Tellado declared that Sánchez had “turned Moncloa into a den of criminals” and renewed demands for immediate elections, while far‑right Vox had long pressed for precautionary measures through the popular‑prosecution mechanism.

Gómez faces charges of influence peddling, corruption in business, misappropriation and embezzlement. The investigation, opened in April 2024 after a complaint from the far‑right union Manos Limpias – later excluded from the proceedings – centres on whether she exploited being the prime minister’s wife to advance her own professional career, particularly through a university chair at Madrid’s Complutense University and via public contracts awarded to companies linked to Barrabés. Gómez and her husband have consistently denied any wrongdoing. The judge’s order argues there is “reasonable evidence of criminal activity” and that the gravity of the potential sentences heightens the temptation to flee. It also describes the alleged conduct as resembling “absolutist regimes” and claims it would be hard to find “a case of similar characteristics.” A separate line of inquiry involving a €4 million European‑funded contract did not lead to formal charges against Gómez.

The legal setback for the prime minister’s family adds to a string of graft investigations involving Sánchez’s inner circle: his former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his brother David Sánchez are already facing trial, while ex‑prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was placed under formal investigation last month over the 2021 bailout of airline Plus Ultra. Conservative and far‑right opposition parties have intensified calls for a confidence vote or early polls, but Sánchez insists he will complete his mandate until 2027. The defence is expected to appeal the precautionary measures, while the Madrid Provincial Court retains the power to annul the entire proceeding – a step the defence has already requested. No trial date has been set.