Smuggling
Defence in smuggling offences (Organic Law 12/1995) involving goods, tobacco and weapons.
Smuggling is regulated by Organic Law 12/1995 on the Suppression of Smuggling, not by the Spanish Criminal Code (CP), and it punishes importing, exporting, trading in, possessing, or moving goods subject to customs control without meeting the legal declaration requirements. The penalty is imprisonment from 1 to 5 years and a fine of one to six times the value of the goods, imposed in the upper half (3 to 5 years) in every case under art. 2 except those in art. 2.1 a), b) and e) — such as drugs, weapons, art. 2.2 goods or smuggling through an organisation — and one degree higher where the offence is committed through entities or organisations that especially facilitate it (art. 3); if the value falls short of the criminal thresholds (€150,000 generally, €50,000 for art. 2.2 goods and €15,000 for tobacco), the conduct is only an administrative infraction. The Audiencia Nacional (National Court) hears only smuggling of defence or dual-use material (Art. 65 LOPJ); other cases are tried where the offence was committed. At Alonso Sala we examine whether the goods actually reach the statutory threshold, the evidence of customs-control evasion, and the possible classification as an administrative infraction rather than a criminal offence.
Smuggling
Defence in smuggling offences (Organic Law 12/1995) involving goods, tobacco and weapons.
Economic 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 offences where defence requires a combination of criminal law expertise and deep accounting/financial knowledge.
Penalty Comparison: Economic Offences
| Offence | Threshold | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Fraud (Art. 305) | >€120,000 | 1 – 5 years + fine of 1x to 6x |
| Aggravated Tax Fraud | >€600,000 | 2 – 6 years |
| Money Laundering (Art. 301) | Any amount | 6 months – 6 years |
| Aggravated Laundering (Arts. 301.1 and 302.1) | Drug trafficking, corruption, organisation members or obliged entities | Upper half (up to 6 years); heads of the organisation, one degree higher (up to 9 years) |
| Corporate Crime (Art. 290) | Balance sheet falsification | 1 – 3 years |
| Punishable Insolvency (Art. 259) | Conduct in actual or imminent insolvency | 1 – 4 years |
Key Defence Strategies
Tax Regularization Defence (Art. 305.4 CP)
Acknowledge and pay the full tax debt before being notified of a tax audit or, failing that, before the prosecutor or state attorney files a complaint, and criminal liability is excluded. This is the most powerful complete defence 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
Corporate crimes under Arts. 290-294 CP do not always require actual harm: falsifying accounts (Art. 290 CP) only requires that the falsification be capable of causing financial harm, and actual harm raises the penalty to the upper half. Showing that the falsification could not harm the company, its members or third parties rules out that offence.
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