On 25 March 2025, the Council of Ministers approved, in the first round, the Draft Organic Law amending Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code, with the aim of transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1226 to implement the European Union’s (hereinafter, “EU”) decisions in sanctioning matters (hereinafter, “Draft Law”).
Objective of Directive (EU) 2024/1226 and its incorporation into Spanish criminal law
Directive (EU) 2024/1226, published on 29 April 2024, amends Directive (EU) 2018/1673 to establish offences and penalties related to the infringement of EU restrictive measures. The Draft Law addresses this need by proposing substantial changes to the Spanish Criminal Code.
Main changes to the Criminal Code
Specifically, the Draft Law consists of a single article amending the Criminal Code with two sections:
Revision of Article 301 of the Criminal Code
Section one addresses the amendment of the last paragraph of subsection 1 of Article 301 of the Criminal Code, in order to impose the penalty in its upper half for the offences of receiving and money laundering when the assets originate from the breach of an EU restrictive measure.
Inclusion of the new Title XXIII bis
Section two introduces a new Title in Book II of the Criminal Code, Title XXIII bis, entitled “Offences against the area of freedom, security, and justice of the European Union”. By typifying these new conducts, any intentional violation of a prohibition or obligation constituting an EU restrictive measure, or provided for in a national provision implementing an EU restrictive measure, will be punished.
In particular, the following offences are intended to be introduced in Chapter I of the new Title XXIII bis:
Article 604 bis: direct violation of sanctions
Article 604 bis criminalises the violation of EU restrictive measures (which may be autonomous EU measures or applicable as derived from the United Nations framework) in a series of specific cases, such as: providing funds or resources to sanctioned persons or entities; failing to freeze assets subject to sanctions; conducting operations with sanctioned States or entities; participating in trade, financial services, or any other prohibited activity; or breaching conditions of authorisations granted by competent authorities.
Article 604 ter: entry or transit of sanctioned persons
For its part, Article 604 ter typifies the conduct of allowing the entry or transit of sanctioned persons into the territory of a Member State.
Article 604 quater: concealment of assets
Finally, Article 604 quater punishes those who evade EU sanctions by failing to report funds or assets located within a Member State, or by concealing information about frozen or non-frozen assets when obtained in the exercise of a professional function.
Additionally, a series of common provisions are intended to be established in Chapter II of the aforementioned Title, namely:
Aggravating and mitigating circumstances
Article 604 quinquies provides for the imposition of penalties in their upper half when certain aggravating circumstances concur in the offences provided for in Articles 604 bis to 604 quater.
Article 604 sexties, for its part, allows for a reduction of the penalty by one or two degrees concerning that indicated for the corresponding offence. This will be possible when the perpetrator voluntarily ceases their criminal conduct, confesses their participation in the acts, and actively collaborates to prevent their consummation or to provide decisive evidence in the identification or arrest of those responsible.
Exclusion of liability and ancillary penalties
Article 604 septies details the cases in which the conducts typified in the new articles will not be prosecutable criminally, establishing criteria that limit their application.
Article 604 nonies introduces as an ancillary penalty the publication of conviction sentences. This measure seeks to reinforce the deterrent function of criminal law, especially when the criminal conducts affect the general interest or are committed by legal entities.
Criminal liability of legal entities
Finally, Article 608 octies incorporates the offences typified in Articles 604 bis to 604 quater into the list of offences susceptible to generating criminal liability for legal entities. This inclusion obliges companies to review and strengthen their compliance programmes.
Creation of the Joint Coordination Commission
Additionally, the Draft Law also proposes the creation of a Joint Coordination Commission for the execution of the EU’s restrictive measures. This Commission will be a collegiate body attached to the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Courts, to which the following functions (among others) will be attributed:
- It will ensure coordination and cooperation between the judicial, police, and administrative authorities responsible for implementing the EU’s restrictive measures in the criminal and administrative spheres.
- It will exchange information for strategic and operational purposes.
- It will conduct consultations in individual investigations.
In any case, its specific functions, operating regime, and composition will be determined by regulation.
Deadlines and consequences for companies
In light of the above, we can draw the following conclusions:
- The transposition deadline for the Directive ends on 20 May 2025, so Member States have until then to implement its provisions.
- The Draft Law has only been approved in the first round by the Council of Ministers, so the text must be submitted to the General Courts and, subsequently, to the Senate.
- In the event that it is finally approved, promulgated, and published in the Official State Gazette, it will enter into force within 20 days.
- We currently do not know the final text, so we must closely follow both its evolution and the timelines until its approval.
What is undeniable is that the Criminal Code will be modified as outlined above, including a new catalogue of offences, which will entail the need for companies to strengthen existing controls in their Compliance Programmes, adapting and updating them to ensure compliance with the EU’s restrictive measures, and incorporating the aforementioned offences into the criminal risk map.
Does your company need to adapt its compliance programmes to these legislative changes? At Ayuela Jiménez, we offer comprehensive advice on Economic Criminal Law and Corporate Criminal Compliance to ensure regulatory compliance and minimise risk.
