Judge Peinado insists on investigating Begoña Gómez's university chair payments | Spain

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has requested more documentation from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) on the chair made by Begoña Gómezwife of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. The magistrate, who accused Gómez of influence peddling and corruption in business, asked the educational center to provide him with a list of “students enrolled and attending each of the editions of the course”; as well as a “list of amounts paid” to the person under investigation, the deputy director of the department and all the professors, among others.

This new move by the judge – included in a resolution signed on Tuesday – comes just days before the Provincial Court of Madrid is due to meet to consider whether to archive the entire case. The court, which He asked Peinado for all the investigations To analyze the case in depth, it is scheduled for September 30 to deliberate and vote on the resources of the defense of Gómez and the prosecution, who accused the magistrate of having carried out a disproportionate investigation, “prospective” and “lacking in-depth indications.” “The case continues with a clearly disproportionate scope and without any precision or definition.” the public prosecutor said in a written statement.

In a resolution signed on September 6 and made public this Thursday, the Provincial Court of Madrid has already refused to advance its deliberation on the case file, something that Gómez's lawyer had requested in July. The court therefore maintains that it will study it on September 30. “Although the resolution resulting from this deliberation and decision session will be known later, after the drafting by its rapporteur and the notification of the corresponding order,” the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid said on Thursday.

The investigation against Begoña Gómez began on April 16, when Judge Peinado opened the procedure after receive by broadcast a complaint from the pseudo-union Clean Hands. The details of the investigation have not been clarified so far. But from the court's resolutions, it is clear that Peinado is investigating the Gómez's relationship with businessman Juan Carlos Barrabéswhich won public awards. It also focuses on the links of the president's wife with the Complutense University, where she headed a chair.

In turn, the judge focused on Gómez's relationship with the Instituto de Empresa – where she directed the IE Africa Center – and summoned one of her employees to testify on October 16. Likewise, he placed the target in the rescue of the Air Europa company by the Government at the end of 2020, for which it has already requested SEPI (Société d'État de Participations Industrielles) to send him the file on the aid granted by the Executive to the airline of the Globalia group. In this regard, he insisted this week that the Civil Guard prepare and deliver a report on this matter. The judge's intention is to determine whether the links between Gómez and the CEO at the time, Javier Hidalgo, had any influence, although the Provincial Court has stated that the suspicions were mere “conjectures.”