MADRID, Oct 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Spanish court on Thursday said it had overridden a judge who ordered separate trials against the prime minister's wife for alleged embezzlement and influence peddling, a case rocking the government.

Judge Juan Carlos Peinado's long-running and highly politicised investigation into Begona Gomez is one of several corruption affairs roiling Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's fragile leftist coalition.

Peinado set off the saga in April 2024 by opening a probe to determine whether Gomez exploited her position as Sanchez's wife for private benefit after complaints by groups with far-right ties.

Last week, Peinado sent Gomez to trial for alleged corruption in the private sector, influence peddling, misappropriation and unqualified practice, after ordering a separate embezzlement trial for her in September.

But in an October 3 ruling made public on Thursday, a Madrid court said the decision to investigate the alleged embezzlement separately was "premature and groundless from a factual, regulatory and procedural point of view".

The decision means Gomez, who has appealed both of Peinado's recent rulings and denied wrongdoing throughout the investigation, would only face one trial.

Gomez is accused of malpractice and misappropriation in connection with software used at Madrid's Complutense University, where she worked.

The embezzlement charge centres on whether an assistant assigned to Gomez to help with duties as the prime minister's spouse also assisted her with private professional work at the Complutense.

Sanchez has consistently defended his wife's innocence. Last month, he lashed out at "judges who play politics" and said spurious complaints by far-right groups aimed to undermine his government.

Separate corruption probes have ensnared two former Socialist heavyweights, Santos Cerdan and ex-transport minister Jose Luis Abalos, as well as the prime minister's younger brother, David Sanchez.

The legal troubles compound woes for the minority government, which struggles to pass legislation.