PRIVATE prosecutors have requested a whopping 24-year jail term for the wife of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez after Begoña Gomez was formally charged with corruption offences last week.
Following an indictment by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, Gomez now faces four charges, including alleged influence peddling, corruption in business, embezzlement of public funds and misappropriation.
In response, her defence team has filed an appeal with the Provincial Court of Madrid to void the investigation’s closure.
Regarding the other defendants, prosecutors are seeking a 22-year sentence for Cristina Alvarez, an advisor at Moncloa Palace who worked closely as Gomez’s assistant.
Meanwhile, businessman Juan Carlos Barrabes faces a six-year prison sentence for allegedly benefiting from several public contracts.
The accusations have been brought forward by organisations including Hazte Oir, Vox, Iustitia Europa and Manos Limpias, a trade union with far-right links.
According to their claims, Gomez’s ‘professional background’ prior to Sanchez becoming prime minister in 2018 was ‘linked to marketing, consulting and fundraising within the private sector’.
From that point onwards, prosecutors argue there was a ‘radical change’ in her activities.
Central to the case is the creation of a university chair at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Hazte Oir says that Gomez used her relationship with the prime minister to offer herself as an intermediary to executives from both large and medium-sized companies.
Furthermore, Gomez allegedly offered ‘her public role’ in order to ‘receive financial benefits, services, and work opportunities for personal gain, at no cost to her’.
The Provincial Court of Madrid must now decide whether the case against Gomez will proceed to trial.
Click here to read more Crime & Law News from The Olive Press.
