Pedro Sánchez to testify in corruption inquiry against his wife on 30 July

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado will hear Sánchez as a ‘witness’ at the PM’s official residence, the Moncloa Palace, at 11am on 30 July, a court statement said.

The proceedings are part of a preliminary investigation into whether Gómez used her position as the premier’s wife to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course that she ran.

The investigation over alleged corruption and influence peddling has infuriated Sánchez, who has characterised the allegations as an effort by the right-wing and far-right political groups to undermine him and his left-wing government.

Gómez on Friday invoked her right to remain silent under questioning by a judge. ALSO READ: Spanish PM’s wife, Begoña Gómez, declines to testify in corruption case.

Gómez had briefly appeared before the same judge on 5 July, but the hearing was suspended after her lawyer said they had ‘not been notified’ about all the complaints against her and asked for time to study them.

The investigation began on 16 April following a complaint by Manos Limpias (‘Clean Hands’), an anti-graft NGO linked to the far-right, alleging corruption in the private sector and influence peddling, while admitting its claims were based on media reports.

A second complaint, citing influence peddling, was filed by Hazte Oir (‘Make Yourself Heard’), an ultra-Catholic pressure group with far-right ties.

Sánchez has repeatedly insisted his wife has done nothing wrong, with his justice minister, Félix Bolaños, on Friday also coming out in her defence.

ALSO READ: Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish PM, investigated over alleged corruption.

ALSO READ: Spanish prosecutors question credibility of corruption investigation against PM’s wife.