Article 252 Spanish Criminal Code: Unfair Administration (2026)
In this article
Key Takeaways
- Abuse of powers of administration
- Autonomous offence since the 2015 reform
- Penalties referred to fraud (Arts. 249-250)
- Special offence: only the administrator commits it
Art. 252 CP punishes unfair administration: a person who, having powers to administer another's assets (arising from law, entrusted by an authority or assumed through a legal transaction), breaches them by exceeding their exercise and causes harm to the assets administered. Since the 2015 reform it is autonomous from misappropriation (Art. 253 CP): here the administrator abuses their powers without needing to keep the asset. It carries the penalties for fraud: 6 months to 3 years' imprisonment (Art. 248 CP), or 1 to 6 years in the cases of Art. 250 CP; if the loss does not exceed 400 euros, a fine of 1 to 3 months.
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Article 252 of the Spanish Criminal Code governs the offence of unfair administration, a central figure of corporate criminal law. It punishes anyone who, having powers to administer another's assets, breaches those powers by exceeding them and causes harm to the assets administered. As corporate crime defence lawyers, we explain its scope.
What Article 252 Says
Unfair administration is committed by anyone who, having powers to administer another's assets — arising from law, entrusted by an authority or assumed through a legal transaction — breaches them by exceeding their exercise and thereby causes harm to the assets administered.
An Autonomous Offence Since 2015
- Unfair administration (Art. 252): the administrator abuses their powers and causes harm, without needing to physically keep the asset.
- Misappropriation (Art. 253): the offender keeps an asset received with an obligation to return it.
Who Can Commit It
This is a special offence: it can only be committed by someone who administers another's assets. The typical case is a company director, but also an attorney-in-fact, manager, guardian or executor. Frequent conduct: related-party transactions to the detriment of the company, disproportionate self-awarded remuneration, diversion of business opportunities or unjustified expenses.
Penalties
Article 252 refers to the penalties for fraud: those of Article 249 (prison of 6 months to 3 years) or Article 250 (1 to 6 years) depending on the amount and circumstances. If the loss does not exceed 400 euros, it is a minor offence punishable by a fine.
A corporate dispute is not always a crime
A risky or debatable business decision is not unfair administration. The offence requires a breach of the duty of loyalty and actual harm, not simply a bad outcome.
Defence Strategies
- No excess: the decision fell within the administrator's powers and the business judgment rule.
- No harm: the assets administered suffered no real, quantifiable loss.
- Commercial nature of the dispute: the matter belongs in company-law proceedings.
- No intent: the administrator acted on the available information and in the company's interest.
- Challenging the amount to downgrade the applicable penalty.
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Frequently asked questions
What does Article 252 CP punish?
Unfair administration — a person with legally-recognized powers to administer another's assets (arising from law, an authority's appointment or a legal transaction) who exceeds those powers and causes harm to the assets they administer.
How is unfair administration different from misappropriation?
Since the 2015 reform they are separate offences: in unfair administration the administrator abuses their powers and causes harm without needing to physically keep any asset, while in misappropriation the offender keeps an asset they received with an obligation to return it.
Who can commit the offence of unfair administration?
It is a special offence that can only be committed by someone who administers another's assets — typically a company director, but also an attorney-in-fact, manager, guardian or executor.
What penalty does unfair administration carry?
It refers to the penalties for fraud: 6 months to 3 years in prison under the basic offence, or 1 to 6 years depending on the amount and aggravating circumstances; where the loss does not exceed €400, it is a minor offence punished only with a fine.
Is every bad business decision by a director potentially unfair administration?
No — a risky or debatable business decision is not, by itself, unfair administration; the offence requires an actual breach of the duty of loyalty and real, quantifiable harm, not simply a decision that turned out badly.
What does the defence typically focus on in these cases?
Showing the decision fell within the administrator's powers and ordinary business judgment, that there was no real quantifiable harm to the assets administered, or that the dispute is fundamentally a commercial matter that belongs in company-law proceedings rather than criminal court.
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