Article 252 Spanish Criminal Code: Unfair Administration (2026)
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listIn this article
lightbulbKey Takeaways
- check_circleAbuse of powers of administration
- check_circleAutonomous offence since the 2015 reform
- check_circlePenalties referred to fraud (Arts. 249-250)
- check_circleSpecial offence: only the administrator commits it
Quick answer
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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