Begoña Gómez, wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, denied any wrongdoing in a court testimony on Wednesday, in an investigation into alleged corruption, one of several legal cases connected to the minority coalition government.
The cases are still all at the investigative stage: no one has yet been put on trial or even charged in any of the alleged affairs. ALSO READ: Former Spanish transport minister denies corruption allegations in court.
Gómez has been under investigation since April for alleged corruption and influence peddling related to her time working at Madrid’s Complutense University. ALSO READ: Sánchez invokes his right not to testify in wife’s corruption probe, and files complaint against judge.
The probe was opened following complaints from two groups with far-right ties — Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) and Hazte Oir (Make Your Voice Heard).
This was the first time Gómez, 49, had actually given testimony, having invoked her right to silence at a previous appearance in July. ALSO READ: Spanish PM’s wife, Begoña Gómez, declines to testify in corruption case.
On Wednesday, she only agreed to answer questions from her lawyer during the hearing, which lasted roughly half an hour.
‘My client has always behaved in a correct manner, always in coordination with the Complutense University’ for anyone to help them obtain public tenders, Gomez’s lawyer, Antonio Camacho, told reporters outside the court after the hearing.
Gómez, who has worked in fundraising for years, had wanted to testify ‘from the very beginning of the proceedings, because she has nothing to hide’, he said.
She had not done so until now ‘because there was a lack of clarity about what was being investigated’, he added.
But a lawyer for Hazte Oir, Javier Maria Perez Roldran, said if ‘there really was nothing’ to the case, Gómez ‘would have answered questions from the prosecution as well’.
Gómez entered and left the court by car through an underground garage to avoid the press that was waiting for her. A small group of protesters gathered outside.
The investigation centres on allegations that Gómez exploited her position as Sánchez’s wife to obtain the co-direction of a master’s degree at Madrid Complutense University.
She also allegedly abused her position to get private financing from businesses in exchange for her support for their bids in public tenders.
The court is also looking into allegations that she illegally appropriated software financed by private companies and initially intended for the university, as well as its name, while she worked there.
During an appearance before the right-wing controlled Madrid regional parliament in November, Gómez dismissed the corruption allegations against her as politically motivated.
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