Criminal Lawyers in Scrap and Metal Receiving

The receiving of metals in the scrap and recycling sector constitutes a specific modality of the receiving offence foreseen in Art. 298 CP that acquires its own identity due to the specific administrative regulation of the sector and its frequent concurrence with the aggravated receiving of Art. 298.1 CP when the stolen material comes from essential public services. The protected legal interest is triple: the patrimony of the holders affected by the antecedent crime; the Administration of Justice; and, in numerous cases, the security of essential public services such as electrical supply, the railway network or public lighting. Supreme Court case-law and lower doctrine of Provincial Courts have consolidated a specific body of criteria on the due diligence required of the professional scrap dealer and on the assessment of indications of unlawful provenance.

Sector Regulatory Framework

The sector's framework combines waste legislation (Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soils and, for electrical and electronic equipment, Royal Decree 110/2015) with the record-keeping and reporting duties that Organic Law 4/2015 on public safety imposes on metal dealers, metal-waste managers and scrap wholesalers (Art. 25), on the terms set by its implementing rules. Those duties include the documentary identification of the seller and the keeping of a register of transactions, and lacking those records is a serious administrative offence (Art. 36.20 LO 4/2015). The non-compliance with any of these obligations does not generate per se criminal liability, but operates as a qualified indication of intent or, at least, of eventual intent.

Penalties and Civil Liability

The applicable penalties vary depending on the amount and aggravating circumstances. The basic receiving of Art. 298.1 CP is punished with six months to two years' prison; the aggravated receiving of Art. 298.1 CP, applicable when the received effects are goods of social utility or public services —typically copper cables of electrical or railway wiring, substation components, manhole covers or road signage— carries one to three years' prison. If the receiver acquires these goods in order to traffic in them (a scrap yard that resells them), the penalty is imposed in its upper half (Art. 298.2 CP); if the trafficking is carried on from the premises, a fine of twelve to twenty-four months is added and the court may impose special disqualification for the exercise of office or commerce of two to five years and closure of the establishment. To the criminal consequences is added the ex delicto civil liability, which in these cases can reach millionaire figures because it includes not only the metal's value (copper, aluminium, bronze) but also the damages derived from the interruption of public service: train paralysis, electrical blackouts, infrastructure repair costs, lost profits of affected operators and, where applicable, compensation to users. The owner companies (ADIF, Renfe, electrical distributors, municipalities) usually exercise private prosecution with substantial civil claims.

Defence Strategy

The technical defence of the professional scrap dealer accused of receiving is built on four recurring axes. The first is the accreditation of compliance with administrative regulations: the complete documentation of the register book, copies of seller IDs, signed origin declarations and observance of the material maintenance period constitute a very solid presumption of good faith that shifts the burden of proof to the prosecution. The second axis is the challenge to objective indications of unlawful provenance: the Supreme Court has consolidated that to ground eventual intent, sufficient indications must concur —unusual quantity, price much lower than market, suspicious seller, lack of identification, evident remains of theft—; if indications were insufficient, presumption of innocence prevails. The third axis is the seller deception defence: when the supplier lied about the origin and provided apparently verisimilar documentation (false invoice, legal demolition declaration, correct identification), the scrap dealer is victim of deception and does not incur intent. The fourth axis is the challenge to civil damage valuation: the amounts claimed by owner companies usually include hypothetical or excessive items that the counter-expert report can significantly reduce. To all this is added the negotiation of settlements, especially useful when facts are indisputable and one seeks to preserve the business's viability through non-custodial penalties.

Current Forensic Practice

In current forensic practice we observe a notable intensification of criminal response against metal receiving, linked to the sustained increase in international price of copper and other non-ferrous metals. Coordinated operations between the National Police Heritage Brigade, the Civil Guard Economic Crime Teams and regional police periodically inspect scrap yards, waste managers and recycling plants, cross-checking register books with theft complaint databases. ADIF, Renfe Mercancías, Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy and main railway and electrical operators have specialised legal departments that appear as private prosecutors in proceedings affecting their infrastructure, considerably raising process complexity. Law 10/2010 on Money Laundering Prevention and the identification obligations derived from anti-laundering regulations add an additional level of requirement. At Alonso Sala we combine 15+ years of experience in economic criminal law, administrative sanction law and waste law to articulate strategies adapted to the sector's complexity, whether defending professional scrap dealers, recycling companies or individuals accused of one-off sale of stolen material.