Spanish PM's brother banned from public office for nine years

A Spanish court banned the brother of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez from holding public office for nine years on Tuesday after convicting him of helping secure a public-sector job tailored for him.

David Sánchez was convicted by a court in Badajoz in the western Extremadura region of administrative misconduct but was cleared of influence peddling, which could have resulted in a prison sentence.

In its ruling, the court said he was guilty as a necessary accomplice in the unlawful creation of the position and imposed a nine-year ban on holding public office and exercising voting rights.

The court found that the position of coordinator of music conservatories in the province of Badajoz was “neither necessary nor urgent” and had been created “to serve the private interest of its recipient and not the public interest.”

“Such unethical practices harm democratic institutions and foster corruption and unequal opportunities,” the court wrote in the ruling.

David Sánchez, a composer and orchestra director whose career has included training and stops in Saint Petersburg, Toulouse, Tokyo and Madrid, was tried with 10 other defendants.

He was accused of profiting from the creation of a tailor-made position as coordinator of music conservatories in Badajoz, a role later transformed into the head of the southwestern province’s performing arts office.

Prosecutors say the position was created in 2016, before Pedro Sánchez became prime minister in 2018. David Sánchez remained in the post until at least early 2025.

The job was under the authority of the provincial council of Badajoz, which at the time was governed by the Sánchez’s Socialist Party.

The case adds to a series of corruption-related investigations involving figures close to Pedro Sánchez that have raised doubts about the viability of his minority left-wing coalition.

His former right-hand man José Luis Ábalos was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption last month.

Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, is under investigation over alleged influence peddling.

Former Socialist prime minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, an ally of Sánchez, was also placed under investigation over alleged influence peddling linked to kickbacks.

Additional sources • AFP

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