Money Laundering Attorneys in Spain
English-speaking money laundering attorneys across Spain. SEPBLAC, crypto, self-laundering & account unfreezing.
You are under investigation for money laundering: what it means and what happens next
These cases rarely start with a complaint: they start with a suspicious transaction report filed by an obliged entity — a bank, notary or accountancy firm — with SEPBLAC, and the suspect finds out when accounts are frozen or the summons arrives. Art. 301.1 CP carries 6 months to 6 years' imprisonment and a fine of one to three times the value of the assets for anyone who acquires, possesses, uses, converts or transfers assets knowing they derive from criminal activity — committed by themselves or by a third party — or performs any other act to conceal their unlawful origin or help evade the legal consequences. The grossly negligent form carries 6 months to 2 years and the same fine (Art. 301.3 CP). Alongside the criminal case there is usually a separate asset-restraint file, and that is where the suspect's liquidity is decided during the years the investigation lasts.
What to do (and what not to do) before making a statement
- Reconstruct the audit trail before testifying. The source of every inflow, the contracts behind it, tax returns and intermediate movements. In laundering cases the defence is won with organised documentation, not with verbal explanations at the hearing.
- Do not move funds or close positions. Any movement after you learn of the investigation is read as an act of concealment and can support a fresh charge on its own, besides worsening the asset-restraint file.
- Demand the details of the predicate offence attributed to you. The offence requires knowledge of the assets' criminal origin. If the prosecution does not specify which activity they come from, the premise is missing, and that is the central challenge.
- Do not sign new paperwork at a third party's request. In nominee cases liability is built on later signatures. Every new document consolidates the appearance of control over assets the suspect says are not theirs.
Money laundering (Art. 301 CP) means acquiring, possessing, using, converting, transferring or concealing assets knowing that they derive from criminal activity, in order to conceal their unlawful origin or help evade the legal consequences. It carries 6 months to 6 years in prison and a fine of one to three times the value of the assets. The penalty is imposed in its upper half where the assets derive from drug trafficking, corruption or town-planning offences. Reckless laundering (Art. 301.3 CP) carries 6 months to 2 years in prison; self-laundering —laundering the proceeds of one's own predicate offence— is also punishable.
Analysis of the Money Laundering Crime (Art. 301 CP)
The crime of money laundering protects the socioeconomic order by preventing money generated by crime from being integrated into the legal economy. Article 301 of the Criminal Code punishes anyone who "acquires, possesses, uses, converts, or transmits assets, knowing that they have their origin in specific criminal activity".
In the last decade, this crime has become the "atomic bomb" of Economic Criminal Law. Its broad wording allows courts to prosecute not only those who actively launder money but anyone who benefits from it or helps hide it. The key to defense lies not so much in denying the facts, but in dismantling the knowledge (intent) regarding the illicit origin and attacking the chain of circumstantial evidence.
Conversion
Transforming dirty money into legal assets (buying real estate, cars, crypto) to break the trail
Concealment
Hiding true ownership through figureheads, shell companies, or offshore trusts
Self-Laundering: The Line
Is buying bread with stolen money laundering? No. It is "exhaustion" of the crime. Buying a hotel to mix funds? Yes. That is self-laundering.
One of the most complex issues is "self-laundering". Until 2010, in Spain, you could not be convicted for stealing and then laundering that money. Now you can. However, the Supreme Court has set limits to avoid "ne bis in idem" (punishing twice for the same thing).
Our defense focuses on proving that the use of funds was mere enjoyment or advantage (exhaustion of the predicate offense) and not a complex financial maneuver intended for concealment. If there is no intent to hide the origin to reintroduce it into legal traffic, there should be no conviction for laundering.
Reckless Laundering: When
Article 301.3 CP allows conviction for laundering even if one did not know for sure that the money was dirty. "Gross negligence" is enough. This is critical for businessmen, bankers, jewelers, and real estate agents (Obligated Subjects).
If you accepted a millionaire investment in cash or from a tax haven without performing due diligence (KYC), the judge may consider that you breached your most elementary duties of care, facilitating laundering. We defend these cases by proving that the operation had an appearance of commercial normality and that standard diligence protocols were followed.
Crypto-assets, Mixers, and DeFi: The New Front
The UDEF and the Cybercrime Prosecutor's Office focus on the use of cryptocurrencies. Crypto laundering is done through "digital smurfing", use of Mixers (like Tornado Cash), and jumps between Blockchains (Bridges).
- Mixers & Tumblers Using mixers is the #1 indication of intent for the Prosecution. We must justify usage for privacy, not concealment.
- Privacy Coins (Monero/Zcash) Their anonymous design reverses the burden of proof. Requires extreme traceability expertise.
- NFT Wash Trading Buying NFTs from oneself to simulate capital gains and justify illicit assets.
Related Services
Self-Laundering & Exhaustion
Technical defense when the author of the predicate offense launders their own funds. The distinction between "enjoyment" and "laundering".
Crypto-Laundering
Defense in investigations involving Mixers, DeFi, and Privacy Coins. Blockchain forensic traceability.
SEPBLAC Defense (Obligated Subjects)
Representation of notaries, jewelers, real estate agencies, and banks in sanctioning proceedings for lack of due diligence.
Offshore Structures
Defense in macro-cases involving international corporate webs, trusts, and tax havens.
Circumstantial Evidence: The Enemy to Beat
In money laundering, it is rare to catch the criminal "red-handed". Therefore, the Supreme Court allows conviction based on "indicia". Our defense strategy consists of offering a reasonable alternative explanation (counter-indicia) for each of these elements:
Asset Increase
Justifying every euro with historical traceability.
Non-existent Business
Proving the economic reality of the activity.
Criminal Links
Disassociating the client from criminal environments.
Don't let them block your life
Account freezing is a devastating precautionary measure. The hours immediately after the freeze are decisive: the request for partial unfreezing must be filed without delay to safeguard your defense capacity and subsistence.
Request Urgent UnfreezingEconomic Criminal Law in Spain: Tax Fraud, Money Laundering and Corporate Crimes
Economic criminal law encompasses the most severe financial penalties in the Spanish Criminal Code. Tax fraud over €120,000 (Art. 305 CP), money laundering (Art. 301 CP), and corporate crimes (Art. 290-297 CP) are complex offenses where defense requires a combination of criminal law expertise and deep accounting/financial knowledge.
Penalty Comparison: Economic Offenses
| Offense | Threshold | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Fraud (Art. 305) | >€120,000 | 1 – 5 years + fine x6 |
| Aggravated Tax Fraud | >€600,000 | 2 – 6 years |
| Money Laundering (Art. 301) | Any amount | 6 months – 6 years |
| Aggravated Laundering | Organized/financial system | Up to 9 years |
| Corporate Crime (Art. 290) | Balance sheet falsification | 1 – 3 years |
| Punishable Insolvency (Art. 259) | Fraudulent bankruptcy | 1 – 4 years |
Key Defense Strategies
Tax Regularization Defense (Art. 305.4 CP)
Pay the full tax debt before charges are formally filed and the crime is extinguished. This is the most powerful complete defense in tax fraud cases.
Challenge the €120K Threshold
The tax authority's calculation method is often contestable. Independent forensic accounting can challenge the assessed figure below the criminal threshold.
Money Laundering 'Self-laundering' Issues
Spanish courts have debated whether the primary offender can also be convicted of laundering their own proceeds. Challenge the double jeopardy implications.
Corporate Crime: Harm to Company vs. Shareholders
Art. 295 corporate crimes require actual financial harm to the company or its members. Demonstrate that any loss was speculative or absent.
FAQs - Money Laundering
What exactly is money laundering?
What is 'self-laundering'?
Can I commit laundering unknowingly (recklessness)?
What is smurfing?
Is it a crime to have an account in Switzerland?
What role does SEPBLAC play?
What is 'circumstantial evidence' in a trial?
How do cryptocurrencies affect laundering?
What is a 'money mule'?
What is the penalty for basic laundering?
When is the penalty aggravated?
What happens to my assets (Confiscation)?
Does money laundering expire?
What liability do companies have (Compliance)?
What is 'Willful Blindness'?
Is it a crime to pay for a house in cash?
What is 'chain' laundering?
What defense does a lawyer have who gets paid with dirty money?
Can they wiretap my communications?
What is 'Diabolical Proof' in laundering?
What to do before a SEPBLAC inspection?
Economic Criminal Defense: Firm Approach
Economic criminal law is a technically demanding area where the frontier between legitimate business activity and criminal conduct has narrowed due to European and Spanish regulatory sophistication. Our firm combines classical legal expertise with economic-financial analysis, forensic accounting and parallel-proceedings coordination (administrative, tax, civil).
Money Laundering Modalities
Specialized defense in each modality of money laundering and asset concealment:
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