Criminal defence throughout Spain · offices in Madrid and Alicante
The “criminal organisation” label transforms any case: it aggravates the penalties of the offences committed, adds an autonomous membership offence and justifies wiretaps, pre-trial detention and extended confiscation. That is why prosecutions use it generously, and why dismantling it is one of the most profitable defences.
In brief. Not every set of people offending together is an organisation. The case law demands distinguishing the organisation from mere co-perpetration or an occasional concert: without a vocation of permanence and a structure with functional distribution, there is neither Article 570 bis nor 570 ter. Three people committing a fraud together, or even several, are co-perpetrators, not automatically a group.
The organisation label gives the prosecution three things: one more offence (membership), aggravating circumstances in the target offences, and a procedural arsenal (longer wiretaps, undercover agents, extended confiscation, easier pre-trial detention). That is why it is charged so lightly, and why its collapse at trial drags down half the indictment.
Article 570 bis defines the organisation as a grouping of more than two persons, stable or for an indefinite time, who in a concerted and coordinated manner distribute tasks or functions to commit offences. The group of Article 570 ter is the union of more than two persons lacking one of those notes (stability or structure). And occasional co-delinquency is neither: that is the frontier that is litigated.
| Conduct | Article | Penalty framework | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Membership (serious offences) | 570 bis | 2 – 5 years | Stability, structure and real distribution of functions |
| Membership (other offences) | 570 bis | 1 – 3 years | The gravity of the target offences |
| Promoting or directing | 570 bis | 4 – 8 years | Leadership must be proven, not presumed |
| Criminal group | 570 ter | 6 months – 2 years | The step down that changes everything |
| Co-perpetration | 27-29 CP | No autonomous offence | The frontier that is litigated |
| Specific aggravations | 369 bis · 302 · 177 bis.6 | Purge of double counting | One single most favourable framework |
| Dissolution | 570 quater · 129 | Entities and vehicle companies | Proportionality for mixed businesses |
| Extended confiscation | 127 bis | Unjustified assets | The documented asset file, prepared in advance |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the circumstances of each case.
The attack goes to the elements: stability, structure and real distribution of functions. The reclassification from organisation to group, and from group to mere co-perpetration, moves the framework from two-to-five years to six-months-to-two, and deactivates specific aggravations of the target offences: a domino effect we always compute. The non bis in idem purge follows: where the target offence already carries its own organisation aggravation, applying Article 570 bis on top is double punishment, and imposing the single most favourable framework prunes whole years.
In macro-cases with dozens of suspects, individualisation is fought from day one: which concrete acts are attributed to the client and what personal evidence exists. And the asset front is inseparable: extended confiscation under Article 127 bis reverses the practical burden, so the client’s asset file, inheritances, savings, family loans with certain dates, is prepared before anyone demands it.
Those barely mentioned among dozens of accused: individualisation forced from the first brief.
Groups charged as organisations over punctual concerts: the reclassification that changes years.
Vehicle or partially contaminated companies facing dissolution: proportionality and the lawful branch.
Relatives whose assets face extended confiscation: the documented asset file prepared in advance.
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Société de Conseil Juridique et Expert es un despacho de abogados con sedes en Madrid, Alicante, Londres y París, especializado en defensa y acusación penal, delitos económicos y corporativos y derecho tecnológico. Trabajamos con orientación estratégica en procedimientos penales complejos, propiedad intelectual y análisis forense avanzado, y prestamos consultoría jurídica, compliance y escudos de protección a particulares y empresas. Atendemos desde Alicante y Madrid, con consulta online en toda España y asistencia al detenido 24 horas. Resuelva sus dudas en las preguntas frecuentes o solicite una primera consulta.
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