Criminal Defense Lawyer for Financial Crimes in Madrid
A summons from the UDEF, a request from the Tax Agency indicating criminal conduct, a criminal complaint for disloyal administration, embezzlement, money laundering or tax fraud: the procedural scenario is decided in the first few weeks. We are criminal defense lawyers specialising in white-collar and financial crime in Madrid, and we take on the legal defense from the very first appearance. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Criminal defense lawyer for financial crimes in Madrid, available 24 hours
Financial and white-collar criminal law requires reviewing inspection reports, accounts and bank movements before any statement is taken. We defend directors, partners and legal entities under investigation for crimes against property and the socioeconomic order, and we also represent the company or private party harmed who decides to bring a private prosecution. We handle the case from start to finish, with our own expert coordination when the file requires it.
Areas of financial criminal law in which we defend you in Madrid
These are the areas of financial and white-collar criminal law in which our firm in Madrid takes on the legal defense. Each has its own page and its own defense strategy.
When a director, partner or manager manages another’s assets to the detriment of the company (art. 252 CP). We examine the power of disposal and the actual financial harm caused.
When someone is accused of appropriating assets received under an obligation to deliver or return them (art. 253 CP). We work on the boundary with disloyal administration.
Falsification of accounts, abusive resolutions or obstruction of corporate oversight (arts. 290 to 297 CP). Defense of the director and coordination with financial experts.
Investigation by the UDEF or SEPBLAC under arts. 301 to 304 CP, including the reckless form of the offence. Strategy against preventive confiscation.
Inspection by the AEAT indicating criminal conduct or with an unpaid amount close to €120,000 (arts. 305 to 310 bis CP). Regularisation under art. 305.4 CP and coordination with your tax advisor.
When the company or the private party harmed decides to join the proceedings to pursue the criminal action against the perpetrator of the financial crime, with its own accounting expert evidence.
Urgent defense against a summons from the UDEF, the Tax Agency or a financial crimes court
In a financial crime case, there is almost never urgency at the police station, but there is urgency with deadlines: the inspection, the criminal complaint or the summons set a timetable that does not wait. This is what we do with you from the very first call:
We answer your call.
We identify the court or the body involved (UDEF, SEPBLAC, AEAT) and your procedural situation, and we activate the defense from that moment.
We explain what you should state and what you should keep to yourself.
You have the right to remain silent and not to testify without your lawyer. We assess together with you what is best to provide and what to keep back for a later stage.
We review the documentation immediately.
Inspection reports, requests, accounts, contracts, bank transactions and communications are reviewed before any appearance, not after.
If there is an arrest or search, we travel to you.
If the case involves a search and entry or an arrest, a lawyer from the firm will travel to you, whether in Madrid city or anywhere in Spain.
We assist you during your statement.
We assist you during your statement before the Examining Court, the UDEF or the National Court, depending on the competent authority.
We provide this assistance 24 hours a day, every day of the year. In Madrid and throughout Spain.
Economic crimes we defend as lawyers in Madrid
The Criminal Code (CP) groups economic crimes mainly under Title XIII (crimes against property and the socio-economic order) and Title XIV (crimes against the Public Treasury and Social Security):
- Disloyal management: management of another’s assets to their detriment, using powers of disposal.
- Misappropriation: taking for oneself assets that must be returned.
- Corporate crimes: falsification of accounts and abusive resolutions.
- Money laundering: investigated by the UDEF, SEPBLAC or the National Court.
- Tax crimes: tax fraud before the AEAT and regularisation.
- Private prosecution: when you are the company or individual harmed by the crime.
In the initial assessment of the case, we determine which of these applies to your situation.
Criminal liability of legal entities and compliance (art. 31 bis CP)
When the case also implicates the company, defending the director is not enough. Since the 2010 reform, the criminal liability of legal entities extends to a specific list of economic crimes (art. 31 bis CP) and requires its own legal representation. We handle corporate defense on four fronts:
- Audit of the compliance model already in place: prevention programme, internal whistleblowing channel and oversight mechanisms.
- Challenging the structural defect of the model: criminal liability of the company requires the absence, or a very serious defect, of the prevention programme.
- Separate legal representation when the interests of the company and those of the director conflict.
- Mitigating factors under art. 31 quater CP: confession, reparation of the damage, cooperation with the justice system and subsequent implementation of measures.
Documentary and expert analysis before the first statement
Before any court appearance, we work through the case file using the same method, whether it is a case of unfair administration or a money laundering investigation:
- Prior documentary analysis. Inspection reports, requirements, accounting records, contracts, bank transactions and communications.
- Expert coordination. Economic experts, tax advisors and external commercial law specialists when the technical complexity of the case requires it.
- Individualised procedural strategy. Precautionary measures, assessment of a plea agreement and design of the evidence according to the competent court.
- Parallel assistance to the case. We coordinate the commercial and tax consequences with your civil or administrative lawyers.
24-hour assistance if you have been summoned for an economic crime
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Penalties and consequences of a conviction for an economic crime
The penalty depends on the offence and the amount involved, but two consequences that weigh as heavily as imprisonment apply in all cases:
- Imprisonment and fines. From six months to three years for basic offences, up to more than four years when there are aggravating circumstances of particular seriousness or a high amount involved.
- Confiscation. The judge may order the confiscation of assets or profits derived from the offence, regardless of the prison sentence.
- Disqualification. From engaging in trade or holding administrative positions, when the offence was committed from that position.
- Criminal record. With a direct effect on public procurement, licences and the commercial standing of the company and its director.
We always work towards reparation of the harm caused and, when the evidence is clear, towards a plea agreement as a way to reduce the sentence and avoid actual imprisonment.
Courts and tribunals for economic criminal law where we practise in Madrid
Our law firm in Madrid regularly handles the defence of economic criminal law cases before the competent bodies: the Plaza de Castilla Courts of Instruction for ordinary pre-trial proceedings, the Central Courts of Instruction of the National Court when the amount, complexity or cross-border nature of the case so requires (money laundering with an international connection, large-scale tax offences), the Criminal Courts and the Provincial Court of Madrid at the trial stage, and the Supreme Court on appeal in cassation. The Special Public Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organised Crime and the Provincial Public Prosecutor’s Office Specialised in Economic Crimes are the usual opposing parties.
Your economic crime lawyer, privately appointed, not court-appointed
In an economic crime case, expert evidence and documentary analysis determine the outcome, and that requires time that court-appointed legal aid rarely has. Choosing a specialist economic crime lawyer through private appointment means that the same firm that studies the case file is the one that coordinates the expert evidence, explains each step to you and represents you in court. No intermediaries: we handle your case ourselves, from start to finish.
The firm's defence method in an economic crime case
From the first interview through to the judgment, we work every financial case using the same method. We apply it equally to a case of disloyal management as to charges of money laundering or a tax offence.
First contact
Confidential first interview at our offices or by video call. We review the summons, criminal complaint or request you have received together with you and assess the procedural urgency.
Case analysis
Technical review of the case file: inspection reports, accounts, contracts, bank movements and communications. We provide you with an internal report setting out the defence options.
Strategy and preparation
Design of the defence strategy: precautionary measures, financial expert evidence, position on tax regularisation or criminal compliance, and assessment of a possible plea agreement.
Defence at trial
Defence at the trial hearing before the Criminal Court, the Provincial Court or the National Court, depending on the competent body. Preparation of witness examination, expert evidence and appeals where appropriate.
Frequently asked questions about defence in economic crime cases
What economic offences exist under the Criminal Code (CP)?
The Criminal Code (CP) groups economic offences mainly under Title XIII (offences against property and the socio-economic order), which includes disloyal management, misappropriation, punishable insolvency, corporate offences and money laundering; and under Title XIV, offences against the Public Treasury and Social Security. There are also related offences such as document forgery or corporate corruption. We review this in relation to your specific case at the first consultation.
What is the difference between disloyal management and misappropriation?
Disloyal management penalises the harmful management of another person’s assets by someone with powers of disposal over them. Misappropriation penalises the incorporation into one’s own assets of property received under an obligation to deliver or return it. Although they often overlap in practice, they are distinct criminal offences. We determine which applies during the initial review of the case file.
I have received a request from the Tax Agency. Do I already need a criminal defense lawyer?
Not always. The administrative route of the tax inspection precedes criminal proceedings. If the regularised debt exceeds 120,000 euros per tax year, or there are indications of deliberate concealment, it is advisable to have criminal law advice running in parallel from the outset, in order to preserve the regularisation under article 305.4 CP.
Can a company be held criminally liable?
Yes. Following Organic Law 5/2010, legal entities can be held criminally liable for specific economic offences (article 31 bis CP). An effective compliance model can operate as a defence or a mitigating factor. The defence of the company and that of its director should be handled by different lawyers where there are conflicting interests.
I have been summoned as a witness, not as a suspect under investigation. Do I need a lawyer?
Your procedural status may change during the investigation depending on what the case file reveals. If you are summoned as a witness but the subject matter of the investigation directly concerns you, it is advisable to attend with a lawyer from that first summons onwards, in order to assess your actual position before giving a statement.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Cervantes & Gª-Escribano Law Office
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We see clients at Goya 20, by phone and by video conference, with the confidentiality inherent to professional practice.
- 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 (detainee assistance 24/7)
Call a white-collar crime lawyer in Madrid
An investigation into a financial crime is decided in the first moves: how the initial statement is approached, what documentation is submitted, and how you interact with the tax inspectorate, the UDEF or the Central Investigating Court. The sooner you call a criminal defense lawyer experienced in economic criminal law, the more room we have to act. We assist clients in Madrid and throughout the country. Call us on 681 256 507.
