NEW: Madrid Judge Juan Carlos Peinado ordered trial to proceed against Begoña Gómez (wife of Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez), her aide Cristina Álvarez, and businessman Juan Carlos Barrabés, on charges of influence peddling, corruption, embezzlement, and misappropriation tied to her role at a Complutense University chair.
As precautionary measures, the judge withdrew Gómez's and Álvarez's passports, banned them from leaving Spain, and ordered biweekly court check-ins — an unprecedented step for a sitting PM's spouse in modern Spanish democracy.