The prosecutor argues that the facts "are not constitutive of a criminal offence" and requests the acquittal of Begoña Gómez and Cristina Álvarez for embezzlement and influence peddling. Only the popular accusation, coordinated by Hazte Oír, demands sentences of 13 and 6 years in prison.
The Prosecutor's Office has requested the acquittal of Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Prime Minister, and her advisor, Cristina Álvarez, from the crimes of embezzlement and influence peddling for which they will stand trial before a popular jury in the Provincial Court of Madrid, on a date yet to be set.
In its provisional conclusions, the prosecutor states that "without a crime, there is no author" and maintains the position it has defended since the beginning of the proceedings: "the narrated facts are not constitutive of a criminal offence." The information, reported by Infobae, indicates that the public ministry requests the free acquittal of both accused.
Without a crime, there is no author," the prosecutor asserts in its provisional conclusions.
The jury trial comes after Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, on the verge of retirement, sent the two investigated to trial. The case began in April 2024 with a complaint from the organization Manos Limpias.
The only accusation seeking a conviction is the popular one, coordinated by Hazte Oír: it demands 13 years in prison for Begoña Gómez and 6 years for Cristina Álvarez. The facts revolve around Gómez's role as co-director of a chair at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), the software created within it, and the work of her advisor, paid with public funds.
The prosecutor reviews Gómez's professional background in the company before Pedro Sánchez arrived at La Moncloa and emphasizes that she received "0 euros" for her "unpaid activity" at the helm of the extraordinary chair for Competitive Social Transformation at UCM. This chair was established following a meeting at Moncloa in July 2020, initiated by Gómez, with the rector of Complutense, Joaquín Goyache, "with the university closed due to the pandemic."
According to the public ministry, the regulations for creating the chair were fulfilled, a regulated figure aimed at attracting private investment for which "no university or professional title is required."
Within the framework of the chair, it was contemplated to promote a technological platform or software to measure social impact, in which companies such as Indra, which contributed equipment and personnel worth 128,442.37 euros; Telefónica, with 55,000 euros, and Google, with 40,000 euros, among others, participated. The Prosecutor's Office points out that there is no record of the program being implemented or registered as intellectual property of the university, and adds that the accused did not benefit economically nor did UCM suffer any financial harm.
The document also indicates that Gómez collaborated with the university in various activities and master's programs between 2012 and 2024, for which she received a total of 39,170 euros.
Regarding Cristina Álvarez, the prosecutor sees no crime in her work as an advisor to Begoña Gómez since 2018, a position of trust and temporary personnel attached to the Presidency of the Government that has existed for the spouses of presidents "in all governments of the democratic era." Her appointment, it adds, followed legal channels and her functions, "with permanent availability," include agenda management, preparation of meetings, visits and events, as well as occasional contacts with people from UCM, sponsors or entities, appearing in copies of emails. An activity that, it concludes, has not caused "any type of detriment or harm to public assets and resources."
The trial will be held in the Provincial Court of Madrid and the date is pending scheduling by the Chamber.
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