Administrative Malfeasance (Prevaricación) Lawyer in Madrid
If you are being investigated for administrative malfeasance (having issued, as an authority or public official, an arbitrary decision in the knowledge that it was unlawful), the headline penalty is not imprisonment: it is special disqualification from 9 to 15 years. In other words, you lose your position and cannot hold an equivalent one for more than a decade. Your professional career can be permanently affected.
We defend mayors, councillors, general directors, municipal officials, comptrollers, secretaries and any authority or public official whose signature is being reviewed in criminal proceedings. Your call will be answered directly by Antonio Cervantes (ICAM 141.301) or Guillermo García-Escribano. 681 256 507.
Other offences against Public Administration we also defend
Malfeasance rarely appears in isolation. It often arises together with other offences under Title XIX when the challenged decision also benefits a specific individual.
The pillar page of the cluster, providing the full picture of offences against Public Administration.
- Knowingly arbitrary decisions
- Planning and activity licences
- Public procurement and contract amendments
- Personnel decrees and appointments
When it is being investigated whether the arbitrary decision was also issued in exchange for money, commissions or gifts.
- Passive bribery by the public official
- Active bribery by the benefiting individual
- Cases involving UDEF and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
- Corporate criminal liability
When the challenged decision involved the disposal or allocation of public funds.
- Misappropriation or temporary use of public funds
- Corporate cards
- Expenses and representation allowances
- Absolute disqualification of 6-10 years
When it is being investigated whether the position was used to benefit a specific third party.
- Influence peddling by an authority or public official
- Influence peddling by an intermediary private individual
- Revolving-door cases
- Corporate criminal liability
We defend elected officials, senior public officials, technical staff and advisers whose administrative decision is now being reviewed as malfeasance. We handle cases in Madrid (Plaza de Castilla and the courts of the Henares Corridor), before the High Court of Justice of Madrid where special jurisdiction applies, and before the Supreme Court where relevant. We know how these cases are built and, above all, what prior administrative documentation can bring them down: legal reports from the secretary or comptroller, technical opinions, and precedents in similar cases.
When you should call a criminal defense lawyer specialising in malfeasance
- You have received a summons as an investigated party and must appear shortly.
- Administrative appeals against your decisions are taking on a criminal tone.
- The political opposition, a union or an association has filed a criminal complaint.
- The Court of Auditors or the regional Audit Chamber has issued a report against you.
- You have been summoned as a witness, but the questions point to decisions you signed.
- You are a technical officer and fear you may be charged for having issued a favourable report.
- You have been summoned by a court over a public contract that was already closed and filed away.
- Your current defense lawyer is not a criminal law specialist and you want a second opinion.
Why you need a specialist malfeasance lawyer from the very first moment
In malfeasance cases, prison is not usually the main threat, since the basic offence does not carry a custodial sentence. What is at stake is very serious, however:
- Special disqualification of 9 to 15 years, which is the characteristic penalty for this offence. It removes you from your post and from any equivalent position for over a decade.
- Your political or civil service career: a final conviction closes the door to candidacies, public exams and promotions within the public sector.
- Civil liability: damages caused to individuals or to the Administration itself by the decision can be claimed.
- Parallel disciplinary proceedings, with their own sanctions, provisional suspensions and consequences for your civil service career.
- The connection with bribery: if a bribe is being investigated alongside the malfeasance, the possibility of a prison sentence returns to the table and proceedings become longer.
- Reputation: malfeasance cases tend to attract media attention. We also work on how your defense is communicated so as not to fuel the noise.
24-hour assistance for arrests, summons and urgent custody situations
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
How we build your defense as a criminal defense law firm
Malfeasance cases are won or lost in administrative detail. This is what we do:
- We reconstruct the file. All prior legal reports from the secretary, the auditor and the technical services. Previous decisions in similar cases. The Administration’s own precedents.
- We challenge the knowingly clause. Article 404 CP requires awareness of injustice. If the decision was signed off with a favourable report, in application of an established practice or with technical support, the awareness of injustice can be dismantled.
- We dispute the arbitrariness. Not every decision overturned in administrative court proceedings amounts to malfeasance. Case law requires manifest and gross arbitrariness, not mere ordinary illegality.
- We raise mistake of law (Article 14 CP). This is solid when the person under investigation acted in application of established legal criteria, even if that criteria is later considered to have been mistaken.
- We challenge questionable evidence. Legal expert reports from the prosecution, witness statements from cooperating colleagues, communications obtained through procedural defects.
- Mitigating factors. Confession, reparation of harm and undue delays. In malfeasance cases delays are common and can carry weight.
- Strategic plea agreements when the evidence is overwhelming. Well negotiated, this can limit the disqualification to its minimum form.
Other white-collar crimes we also defend
Prevarication often connects with other economic criminal offences: offences against public administration in general, bribery, embezzlement, influence peddling, subsidy fraud, money laundering and tax offences. When a case involves several of these strands, we design a single strategy that addresses them all.
24-hour assistance for arrests, summonses and urgent detentions
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
How criminal proceedings for prevarication progress, step by step
In prevarication cases, a summons is the norm, not an arrest. The process usually runs as follows:
- Summons as an investigated party. You are given days or weeks’ notice to prepare for your appearance. Make the most of it: in prevarication cases, the prior administrative documentation is half the defense.
- First statement. At the relevant investigating court (in Madrid, Plaza de Castilla; for those with special jurisdictional privileges, the TSJ Madrid or the Supreme Court). The prudent approach is not to give a statement until you have the full file in front of you.
- Investigation phase. Testimony from officials of the council or body itself, legal expert evidence where applicable, and the complete administrative file. If there is parallel bribery, telephone interceptions and bank information requests may also feature.
- Order for abbreviated proceedings and charges. Public Prosecutor, private prosecution (political opposition, union, association) and your defense.
- Trial hearing. Criminal Court for basic offences; Provincial Court or TSJ Madrid for those with special jurisdictional privileges.
- Judgment and appeals. Appeal, cassation and, where applicable, constitutional appeal (amparo). In prevarication cases, appeals are common given the weight of disqualification from public office.
A clear process, from start to finish
From first contact through to resolution of the proceedings, we follow a transparent method so that at every step you know what to expect.
First contact
We listen to your situation in a confidential initial meeting, assess urgency and define the next steps.
Case analysis
Review of the case file, gathering of evidence and preparation of an internal report setting out the defense options.
Strategy and preparation
We design the procedural strategy, prepare submissions and work with you through every key stage of the proceedings.
Defense at trial
We take on the defense at trial with thorough preparation of witness evidence, expert evidence and the relevant appeals.
24-hour assistance for detainees, every day of the year
We take the call, travel to you and take on the defense from the very first minute. Madrid and the whole of Spain.
Answers to the most common questions
If your question isn’t answered here, write to us: we respond within 24 business hours, always in confidence.
I signed a decree with a favourable legal report. Can I be investigated for prevarication?
Yes, you can be investigated, but the defence starts from a strong position. Art. 404 CP requires awareness of injustice (knowingly). If you signed relying on a favourable report from the secretary, the comptroller or the technical services, that awareness is undermined, opening the door to a mistake of law defence (art. 14 CP).
Am I going to prison?
The basic offence of administrative malfeasance (art. 404 CP) does not carry a prison sentence: only special disqualification from 9 to 15 years. Prison comes into play when bribery or embezzlement occurs alongside the malfeasance. In that case the strategy changes and the offences are dealt with together.
Is every decision overturned in administrative court proceedings malfeasance?
No, not by a long way. Case law requires manifest and blatant arbitrariness, not mere illegality. The line between a debatable legal interpretation and a malfeasant decision is the line the defence fights over.
I'm a technical officer, I didn't sign the decision but I did issue a favourable report. Can I be investigated?
It depends on the report and your actual scope of decision-making. If your technical report was consistent with established doctrine or standard administrative practice, there is no basis for it. If the report was tailored to justify a decision already made, necessary cooperation may be considered.
I have to appear next week. What do we need?
The complete administrative file for the decision in question, all prior reports (legal, technical, financial), earlier decisions in similar cases and, if they exist, precedents from the Administration itself or from other Town Councils. The statement is prepared document by document.
Visit us in Madrid
The firm’s physical office is right in the city centre. We see clients by appointment to ensure each matter receives the attention it requires.
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We handle enquiries in person, by phone and by video call.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 am – 7:00 pm (24/7 assistance for detainees)
If you are under investigation for malfeasance, the first step is to call
The sooner we join your defence, the more scope there is to avoid disqualification or reduce it to the minimum period. One of the firm’s partners answers the phone personally, 24 hours a day. We are based in Madrid and travel to any court in the country when the case warrants it. 681 256 507.
