The investigation into Begoña Gómez, wife of Spain’s current prime minister, is ongoing in Madrid. At the latest court hearing, employees of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where Gómez served as co-chair of a department, gave testimony. The focus was on the legality of her signing tender documents and registering the department’s domain name.
Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who is handling the case, questioned four university employees invited at Gómez’s own request. Their goal was to clarify whether she acted within her authority when signing procurement terms for software and registering the department’s domain in her own name.
María Elvira Gutiérrez Vierna, the university’s controller, stated that she saw no violations in Gómez’s actions. According to her, signing such documents does not require special technical qualifications—compliance with administrative procedures is sufficient. Her statement comes amid suspicions of abuse of power and possible misappropriation of software.
Testimony from university staff
Representatives from the Office for the Transfer of Research Results (OTRI) — María Jesús Morillo and Mercedes Vaquero — also spoke during the hearings. They explained that the university does not manage internet domains like the one Gómez registered. This confirms that registering a domain to a private individual did not violate the university’s internal regulations.
Begoña Gómez herself previously claimed she was acting on instructions from the university administration when she registered the software and domain in her own name. Her position was supported by Zulema Escalante, the department’s co-chair, who is also listed as the owner of the domain name.
Questions about the advisor’s role and suspicions of misconduct
During the proceedings, it emerged that the main point of contact for the university’s master’s program was advisor Cristina Álvarez from La Moncloa. She is also listed as a suspect in the case. Investigators are looking into whether Gómez used government resources and staff for personal purposes at the university.
Judge Peinado has demanded that the government provide documents related to the activities of Gómez and Álvarez, including work schedules and information about trips. Should it refuse, the judge warned, the government may be held liable for failing to comply with court orders.
Ongoing investigation and the outlook for the case
The case against Begoña Gómez involves several episodes, including allegations of software misappropriation and document forgery. However, testimony from university staff at the latest hearing significantly weakened the charges related to abuse of power and the illegal registration of a domain.
Gómez’s attorney, former Minister Antonio Camacho, had been insisting on hearing from witnesses for over a year, but the court only agreed after a decision by the Provincial Court of Madrid. Now, the defense hopes that the new testimony will help clear some of the charges against the Prime Minister’s wife.
Nevertheless, the investigation is ongoing, and the court must still determine whether the actions of Gómez and her adviser constituted misuse of public resources. A final decision in the case has yet to be made, and public attention to the proceedings remains high.
