In the latest development in the legal case against Begoña Gómez, wife of Spain's PM Pedro Sánchez, the group Manos Limpias has requested more than 10 years in prison for her on influence peddling and embezzlement charges, following Judge Peinado's recent proposal for a jury trial. It also seeks over two years for businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés. Gómez's defense accuses the judge of rights violations by advancing without resolving appeals.
Following Judge Juan Carlos Peinado's April 2026 ruling proposing a jury trial for Begoña Gómez on embezzlement, influence peddling, business corruption, and misappropriation—linked to her role in a Complutense University chair and related business activities—the far-right group Manos Limpias filed an accusation brief on Friday seeking over 10 years in prison for Gómez on continued influence peddling and public funds embezzlement.
Manos Limpias alleges Gómez used her position as Pedro Sánchez's wife to influence the university's creation of the Chair for Competitive Social Transformation, which she co-directed (unpaid from 2020, after earning ~40,000 euros in prior roles since 2012), extracting software for private commercialization worth ~15,000 euros. They also claim she issued recommendation letters aiding Barrabés's firm in EU-funded Red.es tenders.
The brief requests two years and three months for Barrabés on influence peddling, noting potential prevarication in Gómez's appointment but deeming it untimely now.
Gómez's defense, led by Antonio Camacho, counters by accusing Peinado of 'abnormally accelerated' proceedings, creating defenselessness by not resolving an appeal against the jury procedure, thus violating effective judicial protection and judicial review rights.
