Spain PM Under Pressure As Wife Faces Graft Probe

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was under pressure to give answers Wednesday after a court said it had opened an investigation into his wife Begona Gomez on suspicion of graft.

Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Apr, 2024) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was under pressure to give answers Wednesday after a court said it had opened an investigation into his wife Begona Gomez on suspicion of graft.

It was a fresh blow for Sanchez, whose left-wing government has faced scrutiny over another politically-charged graft scandal involving the procurement of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The court statement came several hours after online news site El Confidencial said investigators were probing Gomez's ties to several private companies that received government funding or won public contracts.

The announcement sparked an angry backlash from the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP), which has harangued Sanchez for months about his wife's alleged business ties.

In a brief statement, the Madrid court said it had "opened an investigation into Begona Gomez for the alleged offence of influence peddling and corruption". It also said the probe was "subjected to a secrecy order".

The case was opened on April 16 following a complaint by Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), the court added -- referring to an anti-corruption pressure group whose leader is linked to the far-right.