Judge Juan Carlos Peinado, instructor of the Begoña affairsummoned the former councilor of the Community of Madrid to testify Juan José Guemes Barrios.
This Wednesday, the magistrate —who investigates the wife of Pedro Sánchez, Begoña Gomez— interviewed Sonsoles Gil de Antuñano Fernández-Monteshead of human resources at the Business Institute (IE).
And this directive named Güemes as the one who ordered him, in 2018, to hire Gómez at IE, shortly after Sánchez became president of the government.
Before joining the Instituto de Empresa in 2010, as president of its Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Juan José Güemes Barrios served as Minister of Employment and Women and, later, of Health in the governments of Esperanza Aguirre (PP) at the head of the Community of Madrid.
In a resolution to which this newspaper had access, the judge summons Güemes for next November 18 at noon. In turn, he summoned, on the same day and at the same time, another worker from the Business Institute.
According to what sources present during Gil de Antuñano’s interrogation told EL ESPAÑOL, Peinado asked the witness to reveal Güemes’ second name – she mentioned him only by his first and last name – and the judge noted this information. This already hinted at the instructor’s interest in this person, to clarify the conditions in which the signature of Begoña Gómez by IE was conceived.
Specifically, Pedro Sánchez’s wife was hired to run the IE Africa Centera branch of the Instituto de Empresa dedicated to the African continent.
In fact, after Sonsoles Gil de Antuñano’s statement, the judge asked to know in which accounts the funds were deposited. 55,000 euros annual payroll that Begoña Gómez received from IE.
The “Begoña case”
The call Begoña affair It starts with the union complaint Clean handswhich attributes alleged crimes of influence peddling and corruption in private companies to Sánchez’s wife.
Now, although these events are not recounted in this complaint, Peinado is investigating, among other things, the beginning of Gómez’s professional career at IE and, later, as co-director of the Extraordinary Chair of Competitive Social Transformation of IE. Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
Indeed, the rector of the UCM, Joaquin Goyacheis also listed as under investigation in this case, as is the businessman. Juan Carlos Barrabéswho was a master’s professor associated with the said chair.
The complaint from Manos Cleans actually indicated that Gómez had signed two expressions of interest (sort of letters of recommendation) in favor of a UTE (temporary union of companies) in which a company from the Barrabés Group participated. Ultimately, this SEI received both awards for providing these documents.
However, this part of the Begoña affair was left in the hands of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, as it affects EU funds. Today, Peinado continues to investigate other awards received by Barrabés from various public administrations; from Madrid City Hall to the Superior Sports Council (CSD).
