Begoña Gómez to face jury trial for influence‑peddling and embezzlement as Spanish court lifts travel bans

The Audiencia Provincial de Madrid confirmed that Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, will be tried before a popular jury on the alleged crimes of influence peddling and embezzlement of public funds. The court also dismissed the accusations of corruption in business and appropriation of assets, and it lifted the precautionary measures previously imposed by judge Juan Carlos Peinado, including the seizure of her passport, the travel ban and the requirement to appear before the court every fifteen days.

Gómez’s defence submitted the airline tickets for her recent trip to London and Bristol, where she attended her daughter’s graduation, arguing that the absence of a UK entry stamp in her passport does not prove any wrongdoing. The defence labelled the judge’s demand to prove a negative act as “probatio diabólica” and urged that the burden of proof remain on the prosecution. A substitute judge later authorised the UK trip but denied a planned visit to Ankara for the NATO summit. The case also involves Gómez’s adviser Cristina Álvarez, who faces a separate charge of malversation, while businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés has been removed from the jury trial but remains under investigation.