Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s public prosecutor has asked for the corruption case against Begoña Gómez, wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to be closed, in a major turn in one of the country’s most politically charged legal battles. Prosecutors say there is no evidence strong enough to justify keeping the case alive.
The move follows Judge Juan Carlos Peinado’s recent decision to push the case towards trial over alleged influence peddling, corruption in business, misappropriation of public funds and improper use of assets. But the prosecution has now appealed that step before the Madrid Provincial Court and has also repeated directly to the judge that the proceedings should be shelved.
That means this is a serious procedural setback for those trying to keep the case moving. It is not yet the final word, but it does shift momentum. If the higher court or the judge refuses to stop the proceedings and a trial is ultimately opened, prosecutors have already said they would seek the acquittal of Gómez and the other two people under scrutiny in the case.
What the case is about
The investigation has centred on whether Gómez used her position as the prime minister’s wife to benefit a university master’s programme she directed, including by helping secure sponsors and allegedly influencing public contract-related decisions involving businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés. The proceedings have also drawn in Cristina Álvarez, an aide at the prime minister’s official residence.
Judge Peinado closed the investigative phase earlier this month and proposed that Gómez face trial by jury. The accusations being pressed against her have been backed by Vox and several right-wing or far-right-aligned pressure groups, with Hazte Oír leading the prosecution. In their filing, they asked for a prison sentence of up to 24 years for Gómez.
Prosecutors say the evidence does not support a crime
The prosecution’s position is unusually blunt. According to Spanish reports, prosecutors argue that the facts described do not amount to a criminal offence and that Gómez’s marital relationship with the prime minister cannot in itself be treated as proof of unlawful influence. They also say there is no clear evidence she obtained improper personal financial gain from the university work under examination.
That argument goes to the heart of the case. For months, critics of the investigation have said the affair was driven as much by politics as by evidence. Prosecutors have now effectively reinforced that view in legal form, even while leaving the final procedural decision to the courts.
Why this matters politically
The Gómez case has become one of the biggest legal and political headaches facing Sánchez and his inner circle. When the investigation first opened in 2024, the prime minister publicly denounced it as a politically motivated campaign and briefly considered stepping down before deciding to remain in office. Gómez has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Even so, the case has continued to feed Spain’s bitter political divide, with opponents using it to intensify pressure on the government while Sánchez’s allies portray it as a campaign of judicial and political harassment. The prosecutor’s intervention will not end that argument, but it does hand the government a significant legal and political reprieve.
The next decision is crucial
Attention now turns to whether the courts accept the prosecutor’s reasoning and bring the case to a halt, or allow it to move onward despite the lack of support from the public prosecutor. That distinction matters. A closure would mark the sharpest challenge yet to the case built around Gómez. A refusal would keep alive a judicial battle that has already become a symbol of Spain’s wider political polarisation.