Ben Pawlowski
THE family of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, will once again be put under the spotlight in court after a judge ruled that the socialist premier’s brother, David, will stand trial for alleged crimes of misuse of public funds and influence peddling.
Judge Beatriz Biedma, presiding over a court in the southwestern city of Badajoz, Extremadura, ruled last Thursday that David Sanchez, 51, will face prosecution alongside ten other defendants, including Miguel Angel Gallardo, the president of the Badajoz provincial authority.
The case follows a complaint filed in 2024 by Manos Limpias (‘Clean Hands’), the same far-right anti-corruption trade union that initiated proceedings against Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gomez, in an ongoing investigation over allegations of corruption and influence peddling.
The latest probe concerns alleged irregularities in the appointment of the younger Sanchez to the role of regional music director in October 2016, the very same month the current prime minister resigned as leader of the socialist PSOE following two inconclusive general elections.
The judge, following a year-long investigation, said the decision to appoint David Sanchez as head of the provincial government’s performing arts office, a role with a €55,000 annual salary, was not the result of ‘a fair and transparent selection process’.
He is also accused of ‘using influence…to obtain his own benefit, in the first place, by getting the conditions of his post adapted to his personal preferences’. Despite holding the post for seven years, the musician has been accused of rarely attending his role in person, and being unable to fulfil his commitments remotely.
He was also accused of basing his tax residence in Portugal to avoid paying higher levies in Spain, but that case was thrown out by the national tax agency.
David Sanchez’s legal team insists the judge has failed to present a compelling piece of evidence that would warrant an indictment.
Last year, the PSOE branded the complaint as a ‘new false accusation by the usual far-right union based on hoaxes and fake news from online tabloids’.
Prime minister Sanchez, 53, has accused political opponents of using so-called ‘lawfare’ tactics in an attempt to discredit him by attacking his family.
In April 2024, after an investigation was launched against his wife, Sanchez took the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending his duties as prime minister for five days to reflect on whether to continue in office, citing the personal toll and perceived injustice of the case.
