Money Mule in Spain: What Criminal Risk You Face and How to Defend It

A growing number of people receive a court summons or have their bank account frozen for something that, at the time, seemed harmless: letting money pass through their account and forwarding it on. These are the so-called 'money mules'. As criminal-defence lawyers handling money mule cases, we explain the real risk, why you were identified and how the defence is built.

'Money mule' is not a stand-alone offence

The first thing to make clear is that there is no 'money mule offence'. The term describes a role within an online fraud scheme: the person whose account is used to move money out of the financial system and make it harder to trace. The legal classification therefore depends on the specific facts and, above all, on a subjective element: what you knew and could have known.

The three possible charges

• Money laundering (Art. 301 CP): the most common. If the prosecution cannot prove you knew the criminal origin, it is usually reduced to reckless laundering under Art. 301.3 CP (prison 6 months to 2 years), based on a breach of the duty of care. Where knowledge is proven, Art. 301.1 applies (prison 6 months to 6 years and a fine).
• Participation in the fraud (Arts. 248-249 and 28-29 CP): if you are deemed part of the plan, you answer as an accomplice to the computer fraud, with the fraud penalty (6 months to 3 years in the basic Art. 249 offence, aggravated by the amount).
• Receiving stolen goods (Art. 298 CP): as an alternative, where someone profits from proceeds of a property offence knowing their origin, with prison of 6 months to 3 years.

Why you were identified

The trail is a banking one. The scam victim reports it; the bank and the police follow the transfer and reach your account, the first identifiable link in the chain. The organisers are usually abroad and untraceable, so the focus falls on the last known holder. It is common for the bank to freeze the account and hold the balance at the court's disposal even before the summons. Being summoned by the cybercrime units of the Civil Guard or the National Police does not make you guilty: it means your account appears in the scheme.

The 'wilful blindness' trap

The prosecution usually relies on the Supreme Court doctrine of wilful blindness: the idea that, even if you say you did not know, 'you should have suspected'. It is the main argument against the mule and, at the same time, its most rebuttable point. It is countered by proving the apparent legality of the operation, the absence of any meaningful benefit (many mules receive only a small commission, or none) and the lack of obvious red flags at the time.

Defence strategies

• Lack of intent and mistake of fact (Art. 14 CP): the core. Without knowledge of the illicit origin, the subjective element of intentional laundering and of participation in the fraud is missing.
• The fake job offer: many mules are recruited through adverts for a 'payment manager' or 'financial agent' with the appearance of a real company. Proving that prior deception shows you were, in fact, a victim.
• Reducing to recklessness: where dismissal is not possible, moving the classification from intentional Art. 301.1 to reckless Art. 301.3 sharply lowers the penalty and opens the door to a suspended sentence.
• Opposing precautionary measures: against the freezing and attachment you can object by proving your status as a good-faith third party.

Do I have to return the money?

Alongside the penalty, civil liability is usually claimed: repayment of the amount that passed through your account. This is one of a mule's biggest concerns. Voluntary repair of the harm, as far as possible, operates as a mitigating factor (Art. 21.5 CP) and improves your position for a possible plea agreement or for sentencing.

What to do if summoned or if your account is frozen

• Do not testify without a lawyer and exercise your right to remain silent (Art. 118 LECrim) until the case file has been studied.
• Keep the job offer and all communications (advert, emails, contract, chats, details of the supposed company): they are the central evidence of your good faith.
• Do not carry out further operations with the affected account.
• Gather the banking records that reconstruct the path of the money and show the absence of personal benefit.

Money mule defence with Alonso Sala

At Alonso Sala, a criminal-defence firm based in Madrid (C/ Velázquez 27) with coverage throughout Spain, we defend people investigated as money mules. We analyse the classification, the subjective element and the evidence to build the strategy that fits your case. Read more on our money mule defence and computer fraud pages.