Court bans Spanish PM's wife from leaving country

A Spanish court has ordered the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country, according to a court order released Saturday.

The case is one of several corruption affairs that have embroiled the Socialist leader’s family and former allies, threatening to topple his minority coalition government.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered Gomez to hand in her passport and to appear before the court twice a month until a verdict is reached in the case, the ruling said.

The court said "instructions shall be issued to all border posts and civilian and military airports" to ensure Gomez complies with the ban on leaving the country.

Peinado in April formally charged Gomez with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.

He opened the investigation in April 2024 to determine whether Gomez had exploited her position as Sanchez’s wife for private gain, which she and the prime minister deny.

The case centres on the creation and management of a chair at Madrid’s Complutense University that was co-directed by Gomez, as well as the alleged use of public resources and personal connections to advance private interests.

The chair served as a means of private professional development for the person under investigation," the judge wrote when he charged Gomez.

The case originated from a complaint filed by an anti-corruption group with far-right ties.

When the investigation was opened into Gomez in April 2024, Sanchez temporarily suspended his public duties for several days to consider whether to remain in office.

Sanchez has dismissed the allegations against his wife as an attempt by the right wing to undermine his government.

Spain's former Socialist prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was placed under formal investigation last month, suspected of influence peddling in connection with the bailout of small airline Plus Ultra in 2021.

Zapatero has denied the allegations, while Sanchez has expressed "full support" for his mentor.

Verdicts are also due in separate corruption trials of Sanchez's former right-hand man Jose Luis Abalos and his brother David Sanchez.

Sanchez vowed to clean up Spanish politics when he took power in 2018 after the main conservative Popular Party was convicted in its own graft affair.

The conservative and far-right opposition have demanded Sanchez's resignation and early elections, but the prime minister insists he will see out his term until 2027.