Money Laundering: Criminal Defence Guide 2026
In this article
Key Takeaways
- Prison of 6 months to 6 years
- Circumstantial evidence accepted
- MiCA / MiCA 2: crypto AML
- Defence: lawful origin and blockchain forensics
Money laundering (Art. 301 CP) consists of concealing or disguising the unlawful origin of assets, or helping someone who has committed an offence to evade its consequences; it is punished with 6 months to 6 years in prison and a fine of between the value of the assets and three times that value, aggravated where the funds derive from drugs, corruption or terrorism, or where a professional or a criminal organisation is involved. The Supreme Court accepts circumstantial evidence (unjustified increase in wealth, cash transactions, shell companies, transfers to tax havens), so the defence focuses on proving the lawful origin of the assets, the absence of intent and the nullity of evidence obtained unlawfully. Anyone under investigation should instruct a money laundering lawyer in Spain from the earliest stage, before any precautionary measures are taken over their assets.
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Money laundering (Art. 301 CP) is one of the most heavily prosecuted economic offences in Spain. As a money laundering lawyer in Spain, our team explains the keys to the defence in this area.
What Is Money Laundering?
It consists of concealing or disguising the unlawful origin of assets, or helping a person who has committed an offence to evade the legal consequences of their acts. It is punished with 6 months to 6 years in prison and a fine of between the value of the assets and three times that value.
The penalty is aggravated (up to double) where:
- The assets derive from drug trafficking, corruption or terrorism offences.
- The launderer is a professional (lawyer, notary, tax adviser).
- It is carried out through a criminal organisation.
The Indicators of Laundering the Prosecution Uses
The Supreme Court accepts circumstantial evidence in laundering cases. The most common indicators are:
- Unjustified increase in wealth: spending or investments disproportionate to declared income.
- Cash transactions: splitting deposits to stay below the reporting threshold (€10,000).
- Shell companies: creating companies with no real activity to channel funds.
- International transfers: movements towards tax havens with no economic justification.
- Links to offenders: a personal or professional relationship with people under investigation.
Laundering vs Self-Laundering
Since 2010, Spain punishes self-laundering: laundering money that derives from an offence you yourself committed. This is highly controversial because it means punishing the same person twice (for the predicate offence and for the laundering). Our defence focuses on the principle of the exhaustion of the offence: if the perpetrator simply uses the proceeds of the offence for their ordinary needs, there is no autonomous laundering.
Laundering with Crypto-Assets: the Impact of MiCA and MiCA 2
Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), applicable from 2024-2025, and the proposed MiCA 2 (a 2026 revision focused on DeFi and algorithmic stablecoins) reinforce the obligations of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) regarding the prevention of laundering. The key points are:
- Travel Rule: the obligation to transmit identifying data of the originator and beneficiary in each transfer, in line with Regulation (EU) 2023/1113.
- Reinforced KYC: CASPs must verify the customer's identity and the origin of the funds before operating.
- Non-custodial wallets: reduced thresholds (€1,000) that require information to be gathered about the holder.
- DeFi and mixers: MiCA 2 shifts AML obligations onto the developer and the front-end with a control function, widening the circle of responsible parties.
In criminal terms, the use of crypto-assets as a vehicle for laundering continues to be prosecuted under Art. 301 CP. SEPBLAC and the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office already use blockchain forensics tools (Chainalysis, TRM Labs) to trace on-chain operations. The defence requires specific technical knowledge: wallet traceability, the analysis of mixers, the identification of peeling chain and layering patterns.
Defence Strategies
- Lawful origin of the assets: proving the legal origin of the funds with fiscal and banking documentation.
- Absence of intent: proving that the person under investigation was unaware of the unlawful origin of the assets.
- Nullity of evidence: challenging wiretaps and bank searches carried out without judicial authorisation.
- Applying the ne bis in idem principle: avoiding double punishment in self-laundering cases.
- Defence in crypto-assets: attacking the blockchain chain of indicators: errors in attributing wallets, defective KYC by the CASP, doctrine on the legitimate purpose of mixers.
The framework is also changing: the EU's new anti-money-laundering rulebook (AMLR and AMLA), with its cash limits, tightens the administrative duties that sit on top of Article 301 CP.
Under Investigation for Money Laundering?
Money laundering investigations are long and complex. Stepping in from the initial stage is crucial to avoid precautionary measures on your assets. Contact our team.
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Frequently asked questions
What penalty does money laundering carry in Spain?
Under Art. 301 CP, 6 months to 6 years in prison and a fine of between the value of the laundered assets and three times that value, doubled where the funds derive from drug trafficking, corruption or terrorism, or where a professional or criminal organisation is involved.
Can prosecutors convict for money laundering using only circumstantial evidence?
Yes — the Supreme Court accepts circumstantial indicators such as an unjustified increase in wealth, cash transactions structured to avoid the €10,000 reporting threshold, shell companies with no real activity, and unexplained transfers to tax havens.
What is 'self-laundering' and why is it controversial?
Self-laundering is laundering the proceeds of an offence you yourself committed, punishable since 2010; it is controversial because it can mean punishing the same conduct twice, and the defence commonly relies on the principle of 'exhaustion of the offence' — simply using the proceeds for ordinary needs is not, by itself, a separate laundering act.
How does the use of cryptocurrency affect a money laundering case?
Using crypto-assets to launder funds is still prosecuted under Art. 301 CP, but the evidentiary picture now involves blockchain forensics tools tracing on-chain transactions, so the defence often needs to challenge wallet attribution, KYC failures by the exchange, or the methodology of the tracing itself.
What is the main defence against a money laundering accusation?
Proving the lawful origin of the assets with fiscal and banking documentation, and demonstrating the absence of knowledge of any unlawful origin, since the offence requires that the person knew or should have known the funds derived from criminal activity.
When should I hire a money laundering lawyer in Spain?
As early as possible — a money laundering lawyer in Spain should be brought in from the first notification of an investigation, since these cases move quickly to asset-freezing measures and the defence depends on gathering the fiscal and banking documentation proving the lawful origin of the assets before those measures are requested.
Do you need criminal defense in this area?
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