Investigating Magistrate Juan Carlos Peinado has confirmed that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and her government adviser Cristina Álvarez will stand trial before a jury in Madrid on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds.
The investigating judge will formally elevate the case file in the coming days to the Madrid Provincial Court, launching an intermediate judicial phase that legal experts expect will prolong the legal process for five to 10 months before a trial date is set.
Once received by the provincial court, the proceedings will be randomly assigned among 12 of its 15 criminal sections. The court's two domestic violence sections are automatically excluded from the assignment draw, alongside Section 23, which previously adjudicated appeals filed against Peinado's decisions.
From the five judges presiding within the assigned criminal section, one magistrate will be selected to chair the trial and serve as the reporting judge. Court rules mandate that the magistrate with the greatest seniority in that specific section will assume the role.
Key witnesses and evidence to be evaluated
During the upcoming intermediate stage, the court will decide whether Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, socialist minister Félix Bolaños, and other requested witnesses will be called to testify during the oral trial. The court must also determine which evidence will be admitted, a process that legal sources note could trigger additional appeals before the High Court of Justice of Madrid.
Senior legal sources consulted by Spanish newspaper LA RAZÓN reported that scheduling a jury trial typically requires five to 10 months. Given the complexity of the case and the absence of any detained defendants, legal observers indicate that proceedings are likely to stretch until at least next June or July.
The composition of the jury will be finalized behind closed doors after trial dates are confirmed. Each party will be permitted a maximum of four recusation challenges to select the 11 citizens, consisting of nine primary jurors and two alternates, who will ultimately decide whether Gómez is guilty or innocent.
Charges and potential prison sentences
Gómez faces prosecution for influence peddling connected to allegations that an extraordinary master's chair at the Complutense University of Madrid was tailored specifically for her. She is further charged with embezzlement of public funds for utilizing a government assistant for her private business activities and for appropriating software belonging to the university.
Álvarez, a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office in Moncloa, will stand trial as a necessary collaborator in the alleged embezzlement of the university's software platform. Complutense University is seeking 113,509 euros in financial reparation, maintaining that both defendants must be held directly and jointly liable for the sum.
The unified popular prosecution led by the conservative organization Hazte Oír is demanding a 13-year prison sentence for Gómez and six years in prison for Álvarez. In contrast, the Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that neither defendant committed any criminal offense and has a maximum of 10 days to submit a provisional conclusions brief requesting their full acquittal.
Legal basis and financial investigation
In his 67-page ruling, Peinado highlighted that Supreme Court doctrine permits sending a case to oral trial solely on the basis of an indictment brought by a unified popular prosecution, given the nature of the legal interests alleged to have been harmed.
The investigating judge ordered a formal check into the financial capacity of Sánchez's wife, requiring the Spanish Tax Agency to submit her last five income tax returns. He declined, however, to impose bail or any other precautionary measures against either defendant.
The ruling obliges Gómez and her adviser to remain continuously at the disposal of Investigating Court Number 41 and the Madrid Provincial Court, requiring them to report any change of address or location. Peinado concluded that the only rational explanation for the radical shift in Gómez's career trajectory was her position as the prime minister's spouse.
Evidence, rejected appeals, and judge's retirement
To support his findings, the judge referenced a meeting held at the presidential palace between Gómez and Complutense University rector Joaquín Goyache. Following that meeting, Goyache told a former vice-rector that a chair had to be created for Begoña Gómez because she was the president's wife.
Peinado emphasized that Spanish law provides no official regulation for the role of prime ministerial spouse, meaning Gómez was not entitled to government-funded personnel paid through the General State Budgets. The magistrate dismissed defense requests to repeat a preliminary hearing held two weeks ago, ruling that Gómez's absence was voluntarily caused by herself and that her defense rights were not compromised.
The Prime Minister's Office in Moncloa accused Peinado of judicial persecution following the ruling, while judicial statistics indicate that 96 percent of jury trials in Madrid culminate in convictions. Peinado, who launched the investigation over two years ago following a complaint by the union group Manos Limpias, reaches Spain's mandatory judicial retirement age of 72 this Sunday, concluding his tenure at the Plaza de Castilla courthouse while reiterating his comparison of the case to absolutist regimes dating back to King Ferdinand VII that he said were fortunately forgotten.
