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Begona Gomez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has been formally charged with influence peddling and bribery following a years-long criminal investigation that has rattled Spanish politics and now threatens to overshadow a high-stakes diplomatic visit to Beijing.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the charges in a ruling published Monday, sending the case to trial. Sanchez's government denied any wrongdoing by Gomez, describing the timing of the decision, which came while the prime minister was traveling in China, as deliberate and politically motivated.
The ruling emerged during what was meant to be a significant foreign policy moment for the Spanish leader. Sanchez opened his China visit Monday by urging Beijing to use its global influence to help bring an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. His scheduled meeting with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday is now expected to be overshadowed by the legal developments back home.
Gomez is accompanying her husband on the trip.
The charges deepen an already precarious situation for Sanchez, whose Socialist-led minority government has been battered by multiple corruption probes and faces a general election next year that political opponents are expected to exploit aggressively.
Justice Minister Felix Bolanos was sharply critical of the investigation in the wake of the ruling, saying it had "embarrassed many citizens and judges" in Spain and warning that the harm done to the reputation of the justice system "will, in many respects, be irreparable."
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration was deeply angered by the decision.
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The investigation originated from a complaint filed by an anti-corruption group with reported links to the far right, using a Spanish legal mechanism that permits third parties to formally request criminal probes, a procedure that has drawn scrutiny over its potential for political abuse.
The case has haunted Sanchez's government for years. In 2024, he took five days away from official duties to weigh whether to resign after Gomez was formally placed under investigation, ultimately choosing to stay in office and dismissing the allegations as unfounded and politically motivated.
His troubles are not confined to the investigation into his wife. Sanchez's brother has been separately indicted in a probe into alleged influence peddling connected to his hiring by a regional administration, a charge the brother has also dismissed as politically driven.
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