A judge investigating Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's wife Begona Gomez has opened a fresh probe for alleged misappropriation and summoned her to testify, a court said Tuesday.
The latest complaint widens Juan Carlos Peinado's ongoing investigation against Gomez for alleged corruption and influence-peddling that has piled pressure on Sanchez's minority left-wing government.
Peinado accepted a complaint by Hazte Oir, an ultra-Catholic association with far-right ties that has previously launched legal action against Gomez, according to a Madrid court ruling dated Monday.
Hazte Oir accused Gomez of malpractice and misappropriation in connection with software used at the Complutense University of Madrid where she worked.
The complaint alleges Gomez registered as her own software created for a course at the university that was financed by other companies.
It added that Gomez unduly wrote technical documents so that the university hired a tech consultancy service.
Gomez was summoned to appear in court on November 18, the ruling added.
Asked about the latest complaint, Justice Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters on Tuesday that the government respected the judiciary but insisted there was no case to answer.
Peinado began his initial probe in April following a complaint filed by anti-graft NGO Manos Limpias ("Clean Hands") which has links to the far right.
They accused Gomez of using her husband's position as leverage in her professional life.
Sanchez and his Socialist party have dismissed the accusations as a smear campaign by the conservative and far-right opposition against his fragile minority government.