Spanish judge orders prime minister's wife to face corruption trial and surrender her passport

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A judge on Saturday ordered the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to face trial on charges of influence peddling and corruption, and to surrender her passport.

Investigative judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the ruling, arguing that Begoña Gómez represented a flight risk. In addition to surrendering her passport, she must also appear before a court every two weeks. A trial date hasn't been set.

The decision touched off a heated political confrontation, with calls from the opposition for Sanchez's Socialist government to resign.

Gómez is accused of using her position to influence government contracts given to a group of technology companies. The judge also accused her of the misuse of public funds in the hiring of a consultant, and the inappropriate use of software while she was a professor at a public university.

Gómez has denied any wrongdoing. Sánchez has called the case against her part of a smear campaign by conservative political opponents to topple his left-wing government, which has been in power since 2018.

Peinado said that a businessman who allegedly benefited from the government contracts and the consultant that worked for Gómez will also stand trial.

Sánchez, a critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, is facing legal trouble on multiple fronts before a general election due by next year.

Earlier this week, a former Socialist prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, appeared before a different judge in connection with his alleged role in a government airline bailout and to explain the discovery of high-end jewelry during a police raid on his office. He denies wrongdoing.

Government officials sharply criticized Saturday's decision as politically motivated, while the Socialist Party called it “an absolute scandal for democracy.”

“Begoña Gómez is innocent,” the party said. “For two years now, she has been the target of a political and judicial witch hunt. Today’s development is just the latest escalation.”

But Spain’s conservative opposition went on the attack, urging the government to call an early election.

“Lawmakers and the architects of our constitution could never have imagined that the threats to our democracy could originate from the Spanish government itself,” said Miguel Tellado, secretary-general of the main opposition People’s Party.

“Now we see how the government attacks judges, prosecutors and the media while attempting to silence opposition parties,” he said. “This is unthinkable in any modern democracy.”

The two-year investigation into Gómez was launched following accusations by the pressure group Manos Limpias, or Clean Hands, which has pursued multiple legal cases, many linked to conservative causes.

Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report from Athens, Greece.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez talks to journalists as he arrives for the EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife Begona Gomez arrive before a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Russia has freed 24 Filipinos who have been detained for months without charges in a Siberian city, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised concern for them in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Philippine officials said Saturday.

The 24 were scheduled to arrive in Manila in two flights early Sunday, with the first batch to be welcomed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied Marcos in his talks with Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.

Marcos, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, led leaders of the 11-nation bloc in commemorating the 35th anniversary of ASEAN’s diplomatic relations with Russia. Marcos held a bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the summit in Kazan.

The release of the Filipinos was relatively swift after Marcos raised his concern on Wednesday. The Philippines is a key treaty ally of the United States in Asia and was among the majority of ASEAN members that voted for a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Singapore was the only ASEAN member to impose sanctions on Russia. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong joined the Kazan summit.

After his bilateral meeting with Putin, Marcos told reporters that he raised his concern over the Filipinos who have been detained for about nine months in the city of Irkutsk in southeastern Siberia without charges. He said the Philippines has no other information about their condition.

There were reports that the Filipinos may have been victims of illegal job recruitment and taken into custody in Russia due to possible violations of immigration laws, Philippine officials said.

Putin told Marcos that he was unaware of the problem but promised to look into it. Over dinner on Wednesday, the Russian president told Marcos that the Filipinos had not been charged with any wrongdoing, Marcos said. “Don’t worry, we will find a way to fix this problem,” Marcos quoted Putin as saying.

The Philippine delegation was eventually notified by Russian officials that the Filipinos would immediately be deported back to Manila, Marcos said.

About 15,000 Filipinos live and work across Russia, according to Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pose for a photo on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)