SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Daniel Jimenez García and Álvaro Martín Talavera, SLJ Abogados
twelve to twenty-four months and disqualification from public office for nine to twelve years; and • lawful conduct within duties: imprisonment of six months to one year and suspension from public office for one to three years. The Criminal Code also penalises any private individ - ual who attempts to bribe a public official. The penal - ties are the same as those imposed on the corrupted official, depending on the type of bribery involved. Private-Sector Bribery Article 286.bis penalises the offering and accept - ance of unjustified benefits in commercial dealings. It covers both active conduct (offering or promising a benefit) and passive conduct (a director, manager or employee who receives or requests one). The pur - pose of this provision is to protect fair competition by punishing preferential treatment in the procurement of goods and services. Penalties range from six months to four years’ imprisonment, along with fines and pro - fessional disqualification. Bribery in International Business Transactions Article 286.ter penalises anyone who, by offering, promising or granting any improper advantage, bribes or attempts to bribe a public official or authority. The purpose must be to obtain or retain a contract, a busi - ness opportunity or a competitive advantage in inter - national economic activities. The offence carries a prison sentence of three to six years, fines and disqualification. Those convicted may also be prohibited from entering into contracts with the public sector. No Standalone Offence for Failure to Prevent Bribery Spain has no standalone offence for failure to prevent bribery. 3.3 Money Laundering Money Laundering Article 301 of the Criminal Code punishes any person who acquires, possesses, uses, converts or transfers assets knowing that they derive from criminal activity, as well as any act aimed at concealing or disguis - ing their illicit origin or at helping the perpetrator of
the predicate offence to evade its legal consequenc - es. The offence does not require a prior conviction or identification of the perpetrator of the predicate offence; it is sufficient to establish that the assets have a criminal origin. Predicate Offences Spanish law does not maintain a closed list of predi - cate offences. Any criminal activity may constitute the antecedent offence, even where it was committed abroad. Self-laundering is also punishable, allowing the perpetrator of the predicate offence to be con - victed of laundering his or her own proceeds. The basic offence carries a sentence of six months to six years’ imprisonment and a fine proportional to the value of the assets. The penalty is aggravated where the assets derive from offences such as drug trafficking, corruption or human trafficking, where the person acts within a criminal organisation or where the perpetrator is an obliged entity acting in the course of professional activities. Compliance Obligations and Administrative Sanctions The Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering imposes due diligence obligations on a broad range of obliged entities, including financial institutions, real estate companies, notaries, lawyers and audi - tors. These obligations include client identification, document retention and the reporting of suspicious transactions to SEPBLAC. Non-compliance may result in fines of up to EUR10 million or 10% of annual turnover, as well as revoca - Article 285 of the Criminal Code punishes any per - son who uses inside information obtained by vir- tue of his or her position or profession to trade in financial instruments or to recommend transactions to third parties. The offence requires that the profit exceeds EUR500,000, that the instruments involved exceed EUR2 million or that serious harm is caused to the integrity of the market. It carries a penalty of six months to six years’ imprisonment and a fine of tion of the authorisation to operate. 3.4 Financial Services Crime Insider Dealing
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