Article 298 Spanish Criminal Code: Handling stolen goods

1. Whoever, with intent to gain and with knowledge of the commission of an offence against property or against the socioeconomic order, in which that person has taken part neither as perpetrator nor as accomplice, assists those responsible to profit from its effects, or receives, acquires or conceals such effects, shall be punished with imprisonment of six months to two years.

A penalty of one to three years of imprisonment shall be imposed in the following cases:

a) Where the things are of artistic, historical, cultural or scientific value.

b) Where the things are articles of prime necessity, conduits, cabling, equipment or components of infrastructures for the supply of electricity or of telecommunications services, or other things intended for the provision of services of general interest, agricultural or livestock products or the instruments or means used to obtain them.

c) Where the acts are of special seriousness, having regard to the value of the effects handled or to the loss which their taking would foreseeably have caused.

2. These penalties shall be imposed in their upper half on whoever receives, acquires or conceals the effects of the offence in order to trade in them. If the trading is carried out using a commercial or industrial establishment or premises, a fine of twelve to twenty four months shall also be imposed. In these cases the judges or courts may, having regard to the seriousness of the act and to the personal circumstances of the offender, also impose upon that person the penalty of special disqualification from the exercise of the profession or industry of that person, for a term of two to five years, and order the measure of the temporary or definitive closure of the establishment or premises. If the closure is temporary, its duration may not exceed five years.

3. In no case may a custodial penalty be imposed which exceeds that laid down for the concealed offence. If the latter is punishable by a penalty of a different nature, the custodial penalty shall be replaced by a fine of 12 to 24 months, unless the concealed offence carries a penalty equal to or lower than that fine, in which case the penalty of that offence shall be imposed upon the offender in its lower half.

Working translation prepared by Société Juridique from the consolidated Spanish text published by the Official State Gazette. It has no official status: the only authoritative version is the Spanish original, available at the Official State Gazette and reproduced verbatim in our Spanish-language entry for this provision. Source: Organic Law 10/1995 of 23 November, the Spanish Criminal Code.