Spain’s political landscape was rocked recently when Madrid’s High Court charged Begoña Gómez—wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez—with embezzlement of public funds, marking a sharp escalation in the corruption probe that has shadowed her since 2024. The court alleges that during her previous academic tenure at the Complutense University of Madrid, Gómez improperly used state resources to pay her assistant for personal matters. She has also previously faced accusations of influence-peddling and corruption.
In the wake of the August 19, 2025 ruling, Judge Juan Carlos Peinado summoned Gómez to testify on September 11. This formal charge represents a significant leap beyond earlier procedural stages, where she had only been under preliminary investigation.
This probe traces back to April 2024, when far-right activist groups—including Manos Limpias and Hazte Oir—lodged complaints alleging that Gómez leveraged her status to secure co-direction of a master’s program and funnel private financing for associated public procurements. Additionally, she has been accused of appropriating university software and exploiting its brand for private gain.
Gómez initially declined to testify at a July 2024 hearing, citing insufficient clarity over the charges. However, in her December 2024 court appearance—her first substantive testimony—she responded only to her lawyer’s questions and firmly denied any wrongdoing. Her legal counsel emphasized that she had “nothing to hide,” and any meetings held at the Prime Minister’s residence were necessitated by pandemic-era restrictions—not malfeasance.
Prime Minister Sánchez and his inner circle have decried the investigation as a calculated smear by Spain’s right-wing opposition. Sánchez, whose family members and high-ranking aides are also under separate scrutiny, has consistently characterized the allegations as politically motivated attempts to destabilize his minority coalition government.
At this critical juncture, the September testimony looms as a pivotal moment in the case—one that may determine whether the affair concludes as a political sideshow or proceeds to full trial. With public sentiment divided and Spain’s fragile coalition under strain, the outcome could have far-reaching consequences for both Gómez and Sánchez’s administration.
