The Court of Instruction number 41 of Plaza de Castilla has opened an investigation against Begoña Gómezthe wife of the President of the Government, for alleged crimes of influence peddling and corruption. The proceedings were initiated on April 16 following a complaint from Manos Liminas against the woman of Pedro Sanchez for its relationships with several companies that benefit from aid and contracts with the Government.
The proceedings have been declared secret, as reported by the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid, and have fallen by turn of ordinary distribution in instructor Juan Carlos Peinadowhich according to what has been advanced The confidential will order the appearance of several witnesses among its first investigations.
The information has been revealed at the same time that the Government faces its first control session in Congress after the Basque elections. The president took the stand and, in reference to the investigation opened against his wife, he stated: “On a day like today and after the news that I have learned, despite everything, I still believe in the Justice of my countryin autonomy, independence and separation of powers.” “You are feeling the dirty war firsthand, I understand you,” the ERC deputy, Gabriel Rufián, snapped from his seat.
As revealed The confidential, Begoña Gómez met with the CEO of Globalia, Javier Hidalgo, on the same dates that this company was negotiating a rescue with the Sánchez Government in the middle of the pandemic. The Council of Ministers ended up approving the disbursement of 475 million euros to rescue Air EuropaGlobalia’s airline, a decision in which the president himself participated.
In March, the PP filed a complaint with the Conflict of Interest Office, dependent on the Ministry of Public Function, alleging that Sánchez should have abstained from that Council of Ministers. In the opinion of the popular, the “links of an economic and professional nature” of Gómez with Globalia They were sufficient reason for the president to abstain from deciding on the rescue of Air Europa.
But The Interests Office decided to file the PP complaint. “The wife of the President of the Government does not have and has not had any employment or professional relationship that implies the exercise of management, advisory or administrative functions in said entities,” justified the organization, which refused to disqualify the president for a period of ” between five and ten years”, as the PP proposed.
According to newspaper reports The confidential, the lawsuit from the Manos Cleans union points to two possible crimes of the Penal Code that Pedro Sánchez’s wife could have incurred. On the one hand, “influence peddling” included in article 429, aimed at anyone who “influences a public official or authority to achieve a resolution that for themselves or a third party, directly or indirectly, generates an economic benefit.” That is, Manos Limpas accuses Begoña Gómez, first of all, of influencing her husband to generate an economic benefit, in this case for the holding company by Javier Hidalgo.
Secondly, the union points to article 286 bis of the Penal Code, which regulates the crime of private corruption. Among others, the crime punishes anyone who “promises, offers or grants to directors, administrators, employees or collaborators of a commercial company or a society, an unjustified benefit or advantage, of any nature, for them or for third parties, as consideration “so that it unduly favors him or a third party over others in the acquisition or sale of merchandise, contracting of services or in commercial relations.”
Beyond relations with Globalia, The confidential adds that Begoña Gómez signed two letters of support in 2020 for a joint venture of private companies of the businessman Carlos Barrabes, who had previously attended a Master’s degree at the UCM directed by the president’s wife. The Barrabés UTE participated in a public tender run by the public entity Red.es, dependent on the Ministry of Economy, and won the three lots it was eligible for by beating around twenty competitors. A total of 10.2 million euros. The Manos Cleans complaint requests instructor Peinado to collect the letters of recommendation that Gómez signed for Barrabés.
