Criminal defence throughout Spain · offices in Madrid and Alicante
Article 298.1 punishes whoever, for gain and knowing of a property offence in which they took no part, helps the perpetrators to profit from the effects, or receives, acquires or conceals them. Read like that it seems simple; each element is a distinct evidential battle.
In brief. The object almost always traces itself (a theft report, an IMEI in a database, a marked registration plate). What is contested is whether you knew where it came from. There is no negligent handling: knowledge must be proven, usually by inference from price, place and circumstances. Buying a stolen item is not an offence if you did not know its origin.
Article 298.1 punishes whoever, with intent to profit and with knowledge of a property or socio-economic offence in which they intervened neither as perpetrator nor as accomplice, helps those responsible to profit from the effects or receives, acquires or conceals those effects. The object almost always traces itself: a theft report, an IMEI in a database, a marked plate. What is litigated is whether you knew where it came from.
Three clarifications matter from day one. The prior offence must be against property or the socio-economic order: effects from other offences may constitute concealment (Art. 451) or laundering (Art. 301), but not handling. The author of the theft need not be convicted or even identified: Article 300 expressly so provides, though the existence of the prior offence must be proven. And whoever stole cannot also be convicted for handling what they themselves stole: self-concealment is not doubly punished.
| Question | Rule | Framework | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic offence | 298.1 | 6 months – 2 years | Knowledge and profit motive must be proven |
| Aggravated forms | 298.1 a) b) | 1 – 3 years | Artistic goods, infrastructure, agricultural material |
| Trade from premises | 298.2 | 1 – 3 years + fine 12 – 24 months | Professional disqualification 2 – 5 years and closure possible |
| Court | Competence | Criminal Court (Juzgado de lo Penal) | Penalty never exceeds five years |
| Fast track | 795 ss. LECrim | Frequent after flagrant arrest | Negotiated judgment with a one-third reduction available |
| Confiscation | 127 CP | The effects are seized | Return of the object to the owner |
| Gratuitous beneficiary | 122 CP | Restitution even after acquittal | Civil liability up to the benefit received |
| Limitation | 131 CP | Five years in all forms | Computation disputes with prolonged concealment |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the circumstances of each case.
These are almost always circumstantial-evidence cases with immediate arrest. The prosecution infers knowledge from the price, the place of purchase, the absence of documents and the buyer’s experience; the defence attacks the quality of each indication and builds reasonable alternative explanations: a public advertisement, a traceable payment, a price within the second-hand market, identification requested from the seller. There is no negligent handling: without proven knowledge there is no offence.
On arrest and access to the police report before any statement, the constitutional doctrine of STC 21/2018 of 5 March (ECLI:ES:TC:2018:21) applies. Where case-law support is needed on the specific indications of handling (vile price, absence of invoice), it is located and verified in writing for the specific matter before being included in any pleading; we do not cite what we cannot verify. This page does not constitute legal advice.
Individuals who bought a phone, vehicle or item that turned out stolen: proof of good faith and of the market conditions of the purchase.
Gold buyers, scrapyards, second-hand shops and recyclers: register books, identification duties and defence of the establishment.
Those who kept or moved objects for a relative: the border between handling, concealment and the family exemption.
Victims tracing their property: restitution, the Article 122 claim against gratuitous beneficiaries and civil recovery.
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