In Madrid, the provincial court has put an end to yet another attempt to expand the investigation into the financial support provided to the airline Air Europa by the government in 2020. The judges overturned the decision of Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who insisted on the need for an additional report from the Central Operational Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO) regarding the conditions under which the funds were allocated to the airline.
Peinado’s initiative was challenged both by the defense of the prime minister’s wife, Begoña Gómez, and by the public prosecutor. As a result, the court ruled that there were no grounds to broaden the investigation, noting that the judge’s order did not provide sufficient justification for new inquiries. The judges emphasized that there was no evidence of personal ties between Gómez and former Globalia (the parent company of Air Europa) CEO Javier Hidalgo influencing the government’s decision to allocate 475 million euros at the height of the pandemic.
Since spring 2024, Peinado has been conducting an investigation into the prime minister’s wife over suspicions of several crimes, including influence peddling, corruption, embezzlement, and misappropriation. The investigation has focused on her professional contacts with an adviser at the prime minister’s residence, as well as her activities at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where she headed the department.
Despite repeated court remarks about insufficient evidence, Peinado tried to justify the need for new investigative actions by arguing that only further investigation could uncover possible violations. However, the judges disagreed with this reasoning, stating that expanding the case requires stronger grounds than mere assumptions of possible influence.
Thus, the attempt to link the Air Europa bailout to the actions of the Prime Minister’s wife has been deemed unfounded at this stage. The court rejected the request for a new UCO report, emphasizing that any further investigation would only proceed if new, more specific evidence emerges.
It is expected that the case may move forward as new information becomes available, but for now, the court has limited the scope of the investigation to the already established episodes.
