Spain’s PM summoned as witness in wife’s alleged corruption case

A Spanish court on Monday summoned Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to testify as a witness in an investigation into alleged corruption and influence-peddling accusations against his wife that led him to consider resigning in April.

Sanchez, who runs a minority Socialist-led government, will be interviewed by investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado at his official residence, the Moncloa Palace, on July 30, the court said.

The proceedings are part of a preliminary investigation into whether Begona Gomez used her position as the premier’s wife to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.

Peinado said Sanchez’s testimony would be “convenient, useful and relevant” for the investigation to establish whether there was influence peddling.

Under Spanish law, close relatives including spouses can refuse to answer questions, lawyer Luis Romero told Reuters.

Gomez appeared before the judge on Friday but declined to answer questions as instructed by her lawyers, who said the case was “groundless”.

She has not commented publicly on the case, but Sanchez has denied the accusations against her, saying they were baseless and orchestrated by right-wing political foes.

“It’s obvious that this has always been a staged case, a far-right and right-wing setup against the prime minister,” Socialist parliamentary spokesperson Patxi Lopez told reporters.

In April, Sanchez took a five-day break from his duties to consider whether to resign after the court opened the investigation, but ultimately he decided to stay on.

It is the first time a sitting Spanish prime minister has been called to testify in a judicial case since Mariano Rajoy was summoned as a witness in 2017 in a graft case that led to the conviction of several members of his conservative People’s Party and ultimately to a 2018 vote of no confidence in Rajoy.

People’s Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said Sanchez should follow his own advice that he gave to Rajoy in 2017 and resign.

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