Overview

• A judicial filing alleges an aide on the prime minister’s staff, assigned to protocol tasks for Begoña Gómez, performed duties tied to her university master’s program, suggesting use of public time and salary for private work.
• Judge Juan Carlos Peinado also seeks trials for the aide and the official who hired her, with all three summoned Saturday to receive formal notification of the referral request.
• The order cites emails related to the Complutense University and elements pointing to links with the Barrabés business group, which is suspected of helping finance the program Gómez directed.
• Peinado argues that a prior personal friendship factored into the aide’s appointment to a high‑trust role, describing a diversion of public resources to private interests.
• Gómez rejects the accusations, saying the aide only sent a few messages and never assisted with outside professional activities, as separate corruption and influence‑peddling inquiries opened in 2024 continue to shadow her and Sánchez’s entourage.