MADRID, July 14 (Reuters) – David Sanchez, the brother of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, was convicted of administrative misconduct on Tuesday and banned from holding public office for nine years over his appointment to a cultural post by the provincial government of Badajoz in 2017.
The ruling deals a fresh political blow to the Socialist premier, whose government and inner circle have faced corruption investigations and scandals over the past two years. Last month, a former close aide to Sanchez was sentenced to 24 years in prison in a separate corruption case.
David Sanchez was accused of benefiting from an appointment tailored to him because of his family connection to the prime minister, who when the job was awarded had just been elected leader of the Socialists when they were still in opposition. The prime minister has dismissed the case as part of a politically motivated campaign driven by the far right.
The Badajoz court found that the position awarded to Sanchez, overseeing the province’s music conservatories, was created without any genuine administrative need and instead served his personal interests.
“The defendants engaged in a grossly arbitrary exercise of power with the sole aim of favouring specific individuals,” the ruling said, adding that one of the posts was later modified to accommodate David Sanchez’s interest in opera.
The court dismissed the charge of influence peddling, which could have carried a prison sentence. Right-wing pressure groups had sought prison time for Sanchez, while prosecutors requested the case be dismissed.
David Sanchez denied wrongdoing during the trial. The ruling can be challenged on appeal.
Ester Munoz, spokesperson for the opposition People’s Party (PP), said Pedro Sanchez’s resignation was long overdue, arguing that although the court did not find the prime minister influenced the hiring decision, it was too much of a coincidence that a tailor-made job had been created for his brother.
Government spokesperson Elma Saiz told reporters Madrid respected the judicial process and was confident higher courts would ultimately clear David Sanchez.
Gabriel Rufian, spokesperson for Catalan pro-independence party ERC and an ally of Sanchez’s minority government, described the ban as excessive.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, Javi West Larrañaga and David Latona; Editing by Charlie Devereux and Editing by William Maclean)
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