Text size
UPDATES with court appearance in 8th graph
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is grappling with a series of legal probes involving his inner circle, including his wife, brother and a former transport minister.
The 52-year-old and his Socialist party have dismissed the cases as baseless and part of a right-wing “smear campaign”.
But the judicial pressure has given his opponents fresh ammunition with which to attack him.
Here is a look at the legal cases — all still in the investigative phase — troubling one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders:
Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, has been under investigation since April for alleged corruption and influence peddling related to her time working at Madrid’s Complutense University.
This followed complaints from two groups with far-right ties — “Manos Limpias” (Clean Hands) and “Hazte Oir” (Make Your Voice Heard).
She is also suspected of having illegally appropriated software financed by private companies and initially intended for the university.
While the 49-year-old invoked her right to silence at a hearing in July, on Wednesday in a Madrid court she agreed to answer questions from her lawyer, denying any wrongdoing.
During an appearance before the conservative-controlled Madrid regional parliament in November, Gomez dismissed the corruption allegations as politically motivated.
Sanchez’s former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos, formerly a member of his inner circle, is also under investigation.
He has been accused of having taken kickbacks for contracts to buy masks and other medical supplies in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a court document consulted by AFP, Abalos is alleged to have received “financial compensation” for his services in the form of a house in the southern city of Cadiz offered by the company that received the contracts.
The same company also allegedly paid the rent for a Madrid flat occupied by a woman “linked” to the former minister. Abalos denies any wrongdoing.
Sanchez removed him from office in July 2021 and he was expelled from the Socialist Party in February when the affair broke. He still sits as an independent member of parliament.
The prime minister’s younger brother, David Sanchez, has been under investigation since November for alleged embezzlement, influence peddling and tax fraud following a complaint from “Manos Limpias”.
The group accuses David, who runs live entertainment in the southwestern province of Badajoz, of collecting a public salary without going to his place of work as required.
It also questions the conditions under which he was hired for the post in 2017 by the province’s Socialist administration.
He has been summoned to appear in court for questioning over the affair on January 9.
The prime minister’s entourage is also accused of leaking information to the media for political reasons.
The case in question is a tax fraud case involving the partner of Isabel Diaz Ayuso, head of the Madrid region and a leading figure in Spain’s opposition conservative Popular Party.
Alberto Gonzalez Amador, a businessman, reportedly proposed a guilty plea deal to the public prosecutor’s office by email in an attempt to avoid a trial and a possible jail term. This email was leaked to the press.
Amador accused state prosecutors of having violated his right to privacy with the leak and in October the Supreme Court opened a probe into Spain’s top prosecutor, who was appointed by Sanchez’s government and is accused of having been behind the leak.
vab/ds/jj