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Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption probe against PM’s wife

Spain's public prosecutors office on Thursday requested the dismissal of a corruption investigation into Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife which had prompted him to announce he was considering stepping down.

Published: 26 April 2024 09:18 CEST
Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption probe against PM's wife
Sánchez kisses his wife Begoña Gómez during an election night rally in Madrid in 2019. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

A Madrid court said Wednesday it had opened an investigation into Begoña Gómez for suspected influence peddling and corruption in response to a complaint by anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said in a statement on Wednesday that it had based its complaint on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

“If they are not true, it is those who published them” who will have to “take responsibility”, the group wrote in a statement.

The public prosecutors office said it has requested “the annulment of the proceedings” opened by a Madrid court and “the closure of the case”.

READ ALSO: Who is Begoña Gómez? Spanish PM’s partner thrust into spotlight

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it was related to her ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.

It said she had met twice with Javier Hidalgo, the CEO of Spanish tourism group Globalia which owns Air Europa, when the carrier was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout after it was badly hit by plunging air traffic during the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gómez was running IE Africa Center, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, which signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020. Gómez left the post in 2022.

Investigators are also looking into two letters of support Gómez allegedly provided for a joint venture bidding for a public contract, El Confidencial said.

Sánchez, in office since 2018, dismissed the accusations against his wife, saying in a letter posted on X on Wednesday that they were part of a campaign of “harassment” waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right” and supported by the conservative opposition.

The founder of Manos Limpias, Miguel Bernad, is the former leader of a small far-right group, Frente Nacional.

He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2021 for involvement in an extortion ring, before finally being acquitted on appeal due to lack of evidence.

READ ALSO: What happens and who takes over if Spain’s Prime Minister resigns?

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POLITICS

Spain ex-minister slams ‘show trial’ over face mask scandal

An ex-minister and former confidante of Spain's Pedro Sánchez on Monday said he had been subjected to a "show trial" over a face mask procurement scandal at his former ministry.

Published: 6 May 2024 16:41 CEST
Spain ex-minister slams 'show trial' over face mask scandal

Addressing a Senate committee looking into an alleged kickbacks scandal linked to mask procurement during the pandemic when he was transport minister, José Luis Ábalos said he knew nothing about the matter.

At the heart of the case is his former close aide Koldo García, who was arrested on February 21st over an alleged scheme that let a small previously unknown firm obtain contracts worth €53 million ($57.5 million) to supply masks to public authorities, which prosecutors say generated €9.5 million in kickbacks.

READ MORE: What is Spain’s ‘Caso Koldo’ corruption scandal all about?

Ábalos, who has not been charged with any offence, has nonetheless been ejected from the Socialist party after refusing to resign as a show of “political responsibility”, expressing his frustration at Monday’s hearing.

“This (whole thing) is a show trial” which does not respect “the principle of a presumption of innocence,” he told senators in the upper house of parliament, which is dominated by the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP).

Asked what he knew about the matter, he said: “Nothing. And it’s not even clear to me there was such a scheme.”

Ábalos held the transport portfolio from 2018-2021 in Sánchez’s left-wing government and for years was a key member of his Socialist party.

In a court document published in the Spanish media, the investigating judge identified Ábalos as an “intermediary” but he has not been charged with any offence.

Addressing senators, Ábalos said at the height of the pandemic, his undersecretary was the one purchasing masks and not Koldo, saying he was “satisfied” with how things were managed because his was one of the first ministries “to obtain (protective healthcare) supplies”.

Acknowledging his “personal link” with Koldo, who was often photographed at his side, he said it was “a surprise” to learn of his personal enrichment when the matter came to light.

The scandal is particularly sensitive for Sánchez, who took power in 2018 after a huge corruption scandal brought down the former PP government, and has prided himself on the integrity and transparency of his administration.

Ábalos told senators he had not spoken to Sánchez since the scandal erupted, and criticised the Socialist party for expelling him without him being charged.

He was replaced as transport minister during a 2021 government reshuffle, and the PP has claimed his removal showed Sánchez was aware of the scandal and had sought to sideline him.

García appeared before the Senate last month, but invoked his “right not to testify” on grounds a legal inquiry into the matter has begun, while insisting his conscience was “absolutely clear”.

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