Criminal defence throughout Spain · offices in Madrid and Alicante
Bribery, misappropriation of public funds, influence peddling, misfeasance and corruption in business. High-profile cases, reinforced institutional prosecutions and penalties carrying disqualification: the defence demands technical skill, composure and reputational management.
In brief. Offences against the public administration turn on extreme doctrinal precision: who is a public officer for criminal purposes, when a gift becomes bribery, where discretionary decision ends and misfeasance begins, and what assets are public for the purposes of misappropriation. These are also cases involving the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, popular prosecutions and media pressure.
Offences against the public administration share a single requirement: extreme doctrinal precision. What constitutes a public officer for criminal purposes, when a gift is bribery, where a discretionary decision ends and misfeasance begins, and what assets are public for the purposes of misappropriation; each concept has fine boundaries in the case law that separate conviction from acquittal.
These are, moreover, cases involving the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, popular prosecutions and media pressure, where every procedural step is amplified. For that reason we combine technical defence of the highest level with rigorous management of the institutional and reputational dimension of the proceedings.
| Offence | Article | Penalty framework | Key aggravating factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passive bribery (act contrary to duty) | 419 | 3 – 6 years | Disqualification 9 – 12 years |
| Active bribery | 424 | That of the public officer | Mitigation for reporting (426) |
| Misappropriation of public funds | 432 | 2 – 6 years | Aggravated: 4 – 8 + absolute disqualification |
| Influence peddling | 428–430 | 6 months – 2 years | Benefit obtained |
| Misfeasance | 404 | Disqualification 9 – 15 years | No term of imprisonment |
| Corruption in business | 286 bis | 6 months – 4 years | Aggravated by the scale of the deal |
| Fraud against the administration | 436 | 1 – 3 years | Public procurement |
| Legal person | 31 bis | Fine · suspension · dissolution | Absence of a compliance programme |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the degree of completion, aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the specific facts of each case.
The evidence in these cases is documentary, financial and technological: administrative files, procurement, intercepted communications and asset analysis. Mastering it demands method. For that reason we apply LIWARD, Legal Intelligence Warfare for Defense, our own methodology, which integrates legal intelligence, case-law analytics, financial and accounting analysis and e-forensics into a single procedural strategy. That is what distinguishes us from conventional criminal defence.
Contractor companies under investigation: defence of the entity, anti-corruption programmes and strategic self-reporting where appropriate.
Authorities, public officers and directors: technical and institutional defence, with management of media exposure.
Those investigated in large corruption cases: control of the investigation, of the separate strands and of the procedural timetable.
Public administrations and companies harmed: private prosecution and recovery of what was defrauded or misappropriated.
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Criminal defence in English before the courts of Alicante and the rest of Spain, for residents and for visitors who have flown home.