The legal future of Begoña Gómez, wife of Spain’s prime minister, now rests with the Audiencia Provincial de Madrid. Investigating Judge Juan Carlos Peinado has completed the investigation and ordered Gómez to stand trial before a popular jury over alleged embezzlement and influence peddling. Proceedings are on hold while the provincial court considers outstanding appeals that could determine whether the indictment and jury-trial route remain in place. The uncertainty follows Peinado’s imposition of strict measures on Gómez, including the withdrawal of her passport and mandatory court appearances every two months. She is also barred from leaving Spain.
Gómez’s defense team, led by former minister Antonio Camacho, had urged Peinado to wait for the Audiencia Provincial de Madrid to rule on the appeals before next. He proceeded despite the defense’s warnings about the potential waste of judicial resources and the consequences for the parties if the appeals are upheld. The file is reportedly still awaiting transfer to the provincial court. It has not yet selected the judge who would preside over the jury proceedings.
The appeals challenge several of Peinado’s decisions, including Gómez’s indictment and the choice to hold a jury trial. The Fiscalía Provincial de Madrid has sought Gómez’s acquittal, arguing that the alleged facts “are not constitutive of a criminal offence.” That position puts the prosecution at odds with the decision to proceed to trial. The case also involves Cristina Álvarez, an adviser at La Moncloa. Businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés has been investigated in related proceedings.
Earlier in 2026, the Audiencia Provincial annulled Peinado’s initial attempt to move the case to a jury trial, citing a lack of legal justification. Peinado renewed his decision in March, and it is now under further appeal. Since the case began in April 2024, the higher court has allowed him to continue the basic investigation while restricting attempts to broaden the inquiry, including into the Air Europa bailout and Gómez’s professional ties to the Instituto de Empresa (IE). The court has also overturned indictments against several figures, among them the rector of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a former regional minister.
The Audiencia Provincial has also stopped Peinado from opening a second trial against Gómez for alleged embezzlement and invalidated a search of Barrabés’s properties. It ruled that the judge had violated fundamental rights and acted without sufficient urgency. The court’s interventions have made the limits of the investigating judge’s decisions part of the dispute, alongside the question of whether the evidence warrants a trial.
In a separate proceeding, the Audiencia Provincial ordered the reopening of Gómez’s complaint against Vito Quiles over an incident at a restaurant in Las Rozas on 29 April 2026. The provincial court overturned a lower court’s provisional dismissal and ordered further investigation into whether Quiles’s conduct could have constituted coercion. It found that investigators had not sufficiently examined the possible effect on Gómez’s freedom of action. The case remains at the investigation stage, and the order does not establish criminal liability. The Fiscalía Provincial supported Gómez’s appeal.
Spain’s legal system allows higher courts to review decisions by investigating judges, including rulings on the scope and direction of an inquiry. Jury trials are reserved for specified offences, making the legal basis for this route basic to the pending appeals. Their outcome will determine whether the case against Gómez proceeds in its current form or returns for further review, with potential implications for the government and public confidence in the judiciary.
