MADRID, July 16 (Reuters) - The wife of Spain's prime minister will stand trial before a jury on charges of influence peddling and embezzlement, a court ruled on Thursday, in a further setback for the government embroiled in months of graft investigations and scandals.
Begoña Gomez's defence team had launched an appeal, asking Madrid's high court to drop the charges made against her that she denies, and lift other orders imposed on her by a lower court last month.
The Madrid court dropped a third charge of corruption in business against Gomez, and lifted the lower court's order barring her from leaving the country, making her regularly report to court and requiring her to surrender her passport.
But it kept the bulk of the case against her - the most serious legal challenge faced by the family and close associates of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
'GOMEZ IS INNOCENT,' SAYS PM'S OFFICE
State prosecutors had also asked the court to drop the charges - which were based on a legal complaint made by far-right groups who accused Gomez of using her position as the premier's spouse to secure work contracts.
Sanchez - who briefly considered resigning in April 2024 after investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado opened the probe into Gomez - has publicly defended his family, saying the cases are politically motivated and driven by his opponents.
"Begoña Gomez is innocent," Sanchez's office said in a statement on Thursday.
"Anyone familiar with the investigation knows that this is a politically motivated case, stemming from a false allegation made by a far-right organisation, based on fake news, and whose sole motivation is to harass and persecute the prime minister’s wife."
Earlier this week, a court convicted Sanchez's brother of administrative misconduct and barred him from holding public office for nine years.
But Thursday's ruling confirmed Gomez will be tried by a citizen jury, a procedure reserved in Spain for a limited number of offences, including influence peddling.
Data from the judiciary's governing body CGPJ shows juries convict in the vast majority of cases, with conviction rates hovering around 90% over the past decade and standing at roughly 89.5% in 2024.
Under Spain's criminal code, influence peddling by a private individual carries a prison sentence of between six months and two years, while embezzlement can carry up to eight years' imprisonment in aggravated cases.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo and David Latona; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
