Begoña Gómez Testifies at European Prosecutor in Red.es Contracts Case. The wife of Spain's Prime Minister told prosecutors she did not discuss Red.es contracts with officials. Investigators are probing whether there were any irregularities in the evaluation of bids from companies linked to Juan Carlos Barrabés.
In Madrid, the wife of Spain’s Prime Minister, Begoña Gómez, has testified before the European Public Prosecutor’s Office over possible irregularities in the awarding of government contracts worth €8.4 million. Investigators are interested in how bids from companies linked to businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés were evaluated, and whether there was any undue support from government bodies.
Gómez was summoned as a witness after the prosecutor’s office obtained internal messages from Red.es employees and expert reports indicating possible violations in the subjective assessment of bids. According to EL PAÍS, Gómez stated that she had not discussed these contracts with any government representatives, including former senior officials from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Red.es, as well as Barrabés himself.
Questions about bid evaluation and letters of support
The investigation centers on two tenders: ‘Youth Employment Development for the Digital Economy’ and ‘Training Services for the Unemployed,’ both financed by European funds. Both contracts were awarded to the consortium of Innova Next and The Valley Digital Business School, in which Barrabés’s company played a key role. Investigators are examining whether letters of support signed by Gómez and others were used to gain an advantage in the bid assessment process.
Gómez explained that her contacts with Barrabes were limited to professional matters related to the work on the sustainable development department at Complutense University. She emphasized that she was not personally acquainted with the entrepreneur and does not recall the moment of signing letters of support, which became the focus of attention after their publication in the media. According to her, she did not know whether contracts were ultimately awarded to Barrabes's companies.
Parallel investigations and positions of the parties
In parallel with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office case, an investigation is ongoing in a Madrid court led by Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, who had previously charged Gómez with four counts of corruption. Barrabes is also involved in two cases: he is suspected of influence peddling and corruption during the creation of Gómez’s department at the university, as well as possible irregularities in obtaining government contracts.
An expert from the Main Audit Office of the Ministry of Finance noted in his report that the subjective evaluation of bids could have been conducted with violations and in favor of Barrabes's consortium, negatively affecting other participants in the tender. The case materials also mention other letters of support, including from the Madrid City Hall, which also signed contracts with Barrabes’s companies.
Context and new details
During the latest round of interrogations, in addition to Gómez, former Red.es executives and other individuals who signed letters of recommendation were heard. In total, more than twenty witnesses have testified in the case. The investigation was intensified after the appearance of a police report that analyzed internal Red.es staff correspondence and possible signs of bias in application evaluations.
As noted by EL PAÍS, the key question remains whether a special evaluation formula was applied to Barrabés's companies, differing from standard practice. Judicial authorities intend to conduct an additional review to determine whether there was a procedural violation or if this was a typical scheme for similar tenders.
Attention to the distribution of government contracts and potential abuses in Spain remains high. In recent months, issues of transparency and oversight in public procurement have been discussed not only in the courts but also at the political level. Against this backdrop, interest in the Red.es investigation is comparable to the resonance surrounding other major disputes over status and governance, such as the recent debate about Ceuta and Melilla in the US Congress — for more on this, see the article on diplomatic debates over the status of Spanish cities.
