The Spanish Prime Minister’s wife has been summoned to court over corruption allegations

A Madrid court on Tuesday summoned Begoña Gómez, who is married to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, as part of a corruption probe — breathing new life into a saga that almost drove Sánchez to resign.

The summons for July 5 is in relation to “the alleged offenses of corruption in the private sector and influence peddling,” the court said.

Her business ties and government connections have been under scrutiny since an obscure anti-graft nongovernmental organizatoin with links to the far right filed a legal complaint against her, leading a judge to launch a preliminary investigation in April.

But in May, the Civil Guard — which was charged with investigating Gómez’s alleged crimes — said it had not found any evidence of influence peddling.

Spain’s government was quick to denounce the new investigation. “We know that there is absolutely nothing here,” education minister and government spokesperson Pilar Alegría said Tuesday after the summons was issued.

“What we have here is a mudslinging campaign by the right and the far right,” she added.

The allegations led Prime Minister Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018, to suspend his public duties for five days and consider resigning in late April, citing right-wing attacks on his family. He ultimately decided to remain in his post.