Spanish First Lady Charged With Corruption and Influence Peddling Following Two Year Judicial Inquiry

Begoña Gómez faces four criminal charges including embezzlement and influence peddling. PM Pedro Sánchez slams the 2026 probe as a political "character assassination."

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 14, 2026, 11:08 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from The Independent

Formal Charges Filed Against the First Lady

Spain’s political landscape was jolted on Monday as Judge Juan Carlos Peinado formally charged Begoña Gómez with a litany of corruption related offenses. The charges include influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, misappropriation of funds, and private corruption. This judicial move follows a meticulous two year investigation into whether Gómez utilized her status as the spouse of the Prime Minister to advance her professional interests, specifically regarding her role at the Complutense University in Madrid.

Allegations of Institutional Misuse

The core of the prosecution's case rests on the assertion that Gómez used her position to secure a prestigious master's degree directorship and subsequently leveraged public resources for personal gain. Investigators are scrutinizing the methods used to obtain corporate sponsorships for her university courses, following an initial complaint from the organization Manos Limpias. While that group was later expelled for failing to meet bail requirements, the evidence gathered by Judge Peinado was deemed sufficient to proceed with a formal indictment of Gómez, her personal assistant, and a local businessman.

Prime Ministerial Defense from Beijing

The indictment occurred while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife were on an official diplomatic visit to China. Responding to the developments from Beijing on Tuesday, Sánchez dismissed the case as a coordinated effort to undermine his coalition government. The Prime Minister stated that he expects the courts to do justice and expressed confidence that time would vindicate his family. His party, the left wing PSOE, went further, characterizing the judicial process as a "baseless" strategy of harassment orchestrated by right wing political and media outlets.