Pedro Sánchez’s wife Begoña Gómez Fernández is under investigation for corruption, insider trading, embezzlement, and misuse of public funds. Now a private prosecuting party has submitted a demand that she be imprisoned for up to 24 years, as well as an exit ban and confiscation of her passport on grounds of flight risk.
The demand for up to 24 years’ imprisonment comes from a so-called “acusación popular” – “popular prosecution” – in this case led by Hazte Oír, an international organisation with nearly twenty million members, and supported by, among others, Vox. That private actors may conduct criminal proceedings in parallel with the public prosecutor is a distinctive feature of Spanish law. No formal indictment has yet been brought by the public prosecutor.
Exploited her “privileged access and influence” to obtain personal advantages
Begoña was in China on the other side of the globe when Judge Juan Carlos Peinado announced that he had concluded the investigation and recommends trial against Begoña for corruption, insider trading, embezzlement, and misuse of public funds. The absence abroad provided both her and the Prime Minister with a convenient breathing space while the newspaper headlines were at their most intense.
The judge considers that the circumstances are sufficiently documented to bring the Prime Minister’s wife to trial. According to the investigation, Begoña is alleged to have exploited her “privileged access and influence” to obtain personal advantages and to assist a number of companies in winning public tenders as well as to appropriate substantial EU funds. She is also alleged to have received advantages and fees through foundations and university projects, and to have contributed to channelling public funds to projects in which she herself or her close associates have had an inside role.
🇪🇸 | #ÚltimaHora Hazte Oír ha presentado su escrito de acusación en el que solicita 24 años de prisión para Begoña Gómez, esposa del presidente del Gobierno, por la presunta comisión de cuatro delitos.
En el mismo escrito, la organización reclama además 22 años de cárcel para su… pic.twitter.com/S0HsQDTNaX
— ʜᴇʀQʟᴇs (@herqles_es) April 20, 2026
The leader of the Spanish party Vox, Santiago Abascal, who wishes to bring “common sense” back to Spanish politics, calls it “the largest corruption scandal in recent Spanish history” and demands that Pedro Sánchez resign immediately.
The Socialist Party PSOE and the rest of the Left defend Begoña Gómez. They claim that the accusation is a far-right politically motivated attack.