Sanchez summoned to testify in investigation involving his wife

(Patria) - A Madrid court yesterday summoned Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to testify in an investigation into alleged corruption and influence peddling, for which his wife Begona Gomez is suspected.

Sanchez, who leads a minority left-wing government, will be questioned on July 30 by investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado.

The Prime Minister is not required to appear in court; instead, the judge will question him at the government residence, the Moncloa Palace in northern Madrid.

The proceedings are part of a preliminary investigation into whether Begona Gomez used her position as the Prime Minister's wife to secure sponsors for a university master's program she ran in Madrid.

She is suspected of having, in return, provided letters of recommendation to private entrepreneurs who applied for public tenders and thus received taxpayer money.

Peinado stated that Sanchez's testimony would be "appropriate, useful, and relevant" to the investigation to determine if there was influence peddling.

The judge will also question the rector of the public university Universidad Complutense de Madrid - Joaquin Goyache Goia - the day before.

Begona Gomez appeared before the judge on Friday but refused to answer questions, following the advice of her lawyers, who said the case was "baseless".

She has not yet publicly commented on the case, but Sanchez has asserted her innocence, saying the "baseless accusations" were launched by his right-wing political rivals.

Sanchez accused media outlets that published the information on which his wife was reported of complicity.

In April, after the court opened the investigation, he took a five-day break from his duties to consider whether to resign, disgusted by the "attack on his wife". He then decided to remain in power.

The online newspaper El Confidencial, which broke the story, responded that Sanchez was attacking the media that did not report as he wished.

This is the first time a Spanish Prime Minister has been summoned to testify in a court case since conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy testified in a bribery case in 2017.

At that time, several members of his conservative People's Party were convicted of corruption, and then in 2018, Rajoy was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

Socialist Sanchez then became Prime Minister.