Spain's PM brother handed 9-year public office ban in Badajoz prevarication case, court cites nepotism

The Audiencia Provincial de Badajoz sentenced David Sánchez, the brother of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to nine years of special disqualification on 14 July 2026. The 377-page ruling found him guilty as a necessary cooperator in a crime of administrative prevarication for securing a tailor-made job at the Diputación de Badajoz in 2017. The sentence also imposed 18 years of disqualification on Miguel Ángel Gallardo, the former president of the provincial council and ex-leader of the PSOE in Extremadura, and nine years on the nine other defendants, all former officials or employees of the institution.

The verdict and the 'tailor-made' job

The court found that an office was constructed to serve David Sánchez’s personal interests in opera, labelling the practices of "nepotism" and "absenteeism" as ethically reprehensible. However, the magistrates drew a clear line between ethical misconduct and criminal law, ultimately acquitting all 11 defendants of the charge of influence peddling, as a conclusive act could not be proven.

none of the accused was unaware of the criminal plan devised by the highest authorities of the Diputación de Badajoz.

The sentence details a sequence of irregularities starting in 2016, describing a post without real need or urgency that was modified to fit David Sánchez's preferences, who performed under the artistic name David Azagra.

The political fallout

The conviction has energized the PSOE rather than divided it. Sources close to La Moncloa told EL PAÍS that while there is personal damage to the president, the electoral impact is "zero." They distinguish these family cases from the corruption scandals of figures like José Luis Ábalos. Officials believe that decisions against the president's family are being perceived by progressive voters as partisan.

The sole purpose was to bring down a Government due to the inability to do so at the ballot box.

This sentiment of judicial overreach is now seen by party strategists as a mobilizing force that was absent a few months ago.

The battle over appeals

Reactions to the verdict were immediate. The defense, led by lawyer Emilio Cortés, announced it would appeal the sentence before the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Extremadura, calling the punishment "disproportionate" and insisting on a full acquittal.

I expected it to be fully acquittal.

On the other side, Miguel Bernad, secretary-general of Manos Limpias, the union whose complaint initiated the case, criticized the sentence as "a bit lame" for not convicting on the charge of embezzlement of public funds. Manos Limpias confirmed it will also appeal, studying whether to contest the acquittal on influence peddling.

If Manos Limpias had not filed the complaint, David Sánchez would still be working at the Diputación Provincial de Badajoz.

A long judicial road

The case unfolded over several years, beginning in 2017 with an internal email in which David Sánchez was referred to as "hermanísimo." Eleven defendants sat in the dock from 28 May to 9 June 2026. While the public accusations had sought prison terms of three to six years, the court imposed only disqualification from public office. The shadow of Prime Minister Sánchez, mentioned directly half a dozen times in the sentence as an unavoidable contextual reference, continues to loom over the case as it moves toward the next legal phase.