A judge in Spain has ruled that the wife of socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has banned her from leaving the country.

Begoña Gómez had previously been charged after a two-year investigation with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds.

Gómez, 55, denies any wrongdoing in the case, which was triggered by a complaint from the group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links.

Sánchez had repeatedly dismissed the case against his wife as a baseless and politically motivated smear. The prime minister, an outspoken leftist leader in Europe, has accused his political and media opponents of pursuing his family and has also openly questioned the impartiality of some members of the judiciary.