The Provincial Court of Badajoz sentenced David Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, brother of Spain’s Prime Minister, to nine years of special disqualification from public employment or office and from standing for election on 14 July 2026. The court found him a necessary participant in administrative prevarication linked to his appointment by the Diputación de Badajoz. No prison term was imposed. Miguel Ángel Gallardo, the Diputación’s former president and former leader of the PSOE in Extremadura, received the same disqualification penalty.
The proceedings examined the creation and award of Sánchez’s position, including changes made to it in 2022. They also covered the 2023 appointment of Luis Carrero to another post. The disputed job was created in 2017 as a coordinator role for the province’s two conservatories and later reshaped into a position linked to the Oficina de Artes Escénicas. The court reportedly found that the post had been conceived for a specific recipient from the outset and adapted to Sánchez’s circumstances. It did not, but, find that Pedro Sánchez or his brother applied pressure, or that David Sánchez used influence derived from his family connection to secure the appointment.
The distinction between administrative prevarication and influence peddling is basic to the judgment: the court upheld the former but found no concrete pressure or intervention establishing the latter. Pedro Sánchez defended his brother after the verdict, saying, “He is being convicted for being the prime minister’s brother.” The sentence applies to public employment and office. If it takes effect, it would not bar Sánchez from private-sector work.
The trial ran for seven sessions between late May and early June 2026 and heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including defendants and people from the Guardia Civil and public administration. The investigation included a report by the Guardia Civil’s Central Operative Unit, known as the UCO. Testimony from the 53 people called to appear challenged the report’s conclusions. Most, information from the account of the hearings, contradicted them. Seven parties acting as popular prosecutors sought convictions and prison terms of between one and six years. Both the public prosecutor and the defense sought acquittal, so the disqualification verdict differed from the positions taken by those two sides.
The conviction is not final. Sánchez’s defense appealed to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Extremadura, and the Fiscalía was also reported to be seeking his acquittal. The appeal leaves the case pending further judicial review, so the nine-year disqualification has not yet acquired final effect.
The verdict has renewed debate over the boundaries of discretionary appointments and oversight of public-sector hiring in Spain. The case turns on whether the provincial administration created a position to meet a genuine public-service need or tailored it for a predetermined individual. The reported judgment did not establish that political influence was used to obtain the appointment. The controversy also reflects wider discussions about the intersection of politics and public administration. Electoral law and the handling of citizenship cases have been under scrutiny, including the potential impact of new Spanish citizens on future elections, as detailed in this report on nationality law and voting rights.
In Spanish law, administrative prevarication concerns a public official’s knowingly arbitrary decision in the exercise of public duties. In this case, the court’s reported findings focused on the purpose and legality of administrative decisions surrounding the appointment, while distinguishing those findings from an unproven allegation of influence peddling. The outcome may prompt closer scrutiny of future appointments in public institutions, particularly when questions arise about whether a role was designed around a specific candidate.
