Spain’s judicial watchdog opened disciplinary proceedings on Monday against the judge investigating Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife, after he suggested her police bodyguards could help her flee the country. The General Council of the Judiciary, known as the CGPJ, voted to act against Judge Juan Carlos Peinado for remarks made in a court ruling issued on Saturday. The proceedings center on comments the judge made about Spain’s national police force while ordering Begoña Gómez to stand trial.
Peinado ruled on Saturday that Gómez must face trial on four charges, including embezzlement, influence-peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds. He also banned her from traveling abroad and ordered her to surrender her passport, citing the risk that she could flee.
In his written ruling, Peinado said there was no doubt that Gómez’s police bodyguards could potentially facilitate her escape, whether acting on their own initiative or following orders from above, according to Reuters. The remark drew an immediate and unusual public response from Spain’s national police force.
The force issued a statement calling the judge’s reasoning unjustified, according to The Local. It stressed the professionalism of its officers in carrying out protective duties.
The CGPJ said Monday that Peinado’s statements could amount to a serious disciplinary offence. Under Spanish judicial rules, such an offence can carry a fine of up to 6,000 euros, equivalent to roughly $6,900, the council said.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños criticized the broader case against Gómez on Monday, calling it “absolutely abnormal” and damaging to the reputation of Spain’s judicial system. “This case should have been dismissed from day one, and it was not,” Bolaños told Cadena Ser radio. He described some of Peinado’s decisions as “incomprehensible.”
The Socialist Party, which Sánchez leads, has defended Gómez publicly since the ruling. The party posted on social media platform X that she has been subjected to judicial and political persecution for two years, calling Saturday’s ruling another step in that process.
Gómez denies all wrongdoing and has appealed the conditions Peinado imposed, including the seizure of her passport, El País reported, citing sources close to her.
Peinado has summoned Gómez and her assistant, who is also a defendant in the case, to appear at his court on Wednesday to surrender their passports. On the same day, Sánchez is scheduled to appear before the lower house of parliament to address the corruption scandals affecting his inner circle. Sánchez has not been named as a suspect in any of the investigations and has said the case against his wife is politically motivated.
Regional and political impact
The case is one of several corruption investigations weighing on Sánchez’s minority coalition government, according to Reuters. Several of his close allies, including the Socialist Party’s number three official and his former transport minister, are under separate investigation over alleged kickbacks tied to public works, oil and gas contracts, and mask procurement during the pandemic. They deny wrongdoing.
A Spanish court separately sentenced Sánchez’s former top aide, José Luis Ábalos, to 24 years in prison on Monday, according to The Local. Spain’s High Court is also investigating former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero over allegations he led a network that profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties, including the airline Plus Ultra, Al Jazeera reported.
Background
Peinado opened his investigation into Gómez in 2024 to examine whether she used her position as the prime minister’s wife for private gain. The case centers on the creation and management of an academic chair at Madrid’s Complutense University, which Gómez co-directed, along with allegations she used public resources and personal connections to advance private business interests. The original complaint was filed by an anti-corruption group with far-right ties. Gómez and Sánchez have consistently denied the allegations, describing them as a campaign to remove him from office. No trial date has yet been set.
What happens next
Gómez and her assistant are due in court on Wednesday to hand over their passports as ordered by Peinado. Sánchez is scheduled to address the Spanish parliament’s lower house the same day on the judicial investigations involving his entourage. The CGPJ’s disciplinary proceedings against Peinado will continue separately from the criminal case against Gómez. Peinado, who is due to retire in September, has not publicly responded to the disciplinary action as of Monday.
