The judge Juan Carlos Peinado has requested more documentation from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) regarding the chair directed by Begoña Gómez, wife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. The magistrate, who has charged Gómez with influence peddling and corruption in business, has asked the educational institution to provide a list of the “students enrolled and attendees of each of the editions of the chair”, as well as a “list of amounts paid” to the accused, the deputy director of the chair, and all the professors, among others. This new move by the judge comes just days before the Provincial Court of Madrid convenes to consider whether to dismiss the entire case on September 30. The court, which requested all the investigations from Peinado to thoroughly analyze the matter, is scheduled to deliberate and vote on the appeals of Gómez’s defense and the Prosecution, who have accused the magistrate of conducting an investigation that lacks evidence. “The cause continues with a clearly excessive breadth and without any precision or definition,” the public ministry stated in a document.
In a resolution signed on September 6, which was made public on Thursday, the Provincial Court of Madrid already rejected advancing its deliberation on the dismissal of the case, which had been requested by Gómez’s lawyer in July. Therefore, the court maintains that it will study the case on September 30. “Although the resolution resulting from that deliberation and judgment session will be known later, after being drafted by its speaker and after notification of the corresponding order,” the Higher Court of Justice of Madrid specified on Thursday. The investigation against Begoña Gómez started on April 16, when Judge Peinado opened proceedings after receiving a complaint from the pseudosyndicate Manos Limpias. The details of the investigation have not been clarified yet. However, from the court resolutions, it is clear that Peinado is investigating Gómez’s relationship with the businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, who obtained public contracts. He is also looking into Gómez’s links with the Complutense University, where she led a chair.
Additionally, the judge has focused on Gómez’s relationship with the Instituto de Empresa—where she directed the IE Africa Center—and has summoned one of its employees to testify on October 16. He has also raised questions about the rescue of the company Air Europa by the Government at the end of 2020, for which he requested the SEPI (State Industrial Participations Company) to provide him with the file of the aids granted by the Government to the airline of the Globalia group. This week, the judge has continued to ask the Guardia Civil to prepare and deliver a report on the matter. The judge’s intention is to determine whether the links between Gómez and the then CEO of the company, Javier Hidalgo, had any influence, despite the Provincial Court stating that the suspicions were mere “conjectures.” The judge’s actions have drawn criticism from Gómez’s defense and the Prosecution, who believe that the investigation lacks sufficient evidence and is overly broad.
The outcome of the case against Begoña Gómez remains uncertain as the Provincial Court of Madrid is set to decide whether to dismiss the charges on September 30. Judge Peinado’s request for additional documentation from the Complutense University of Madrid indicates that the investigation into Gómez’s alleged influence peddling and corruption in business is ongoing. The judge has also focused on Gómez’s ties to the Instituto de Empresa and the rescue of Air Europa by the Government. Despite criticisms of the investigation as lacking in evidence and overly broad, the judge continues to gather information and pursue leads. The decision of the court on whether to proceed with the case or dismiss it will determine the future of the legal proceedings against Gómez.
