Formerly known as fraudulent transfer of assets

Punishable Insolvency in Marbella

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Specialist defense in punishable insolvency and frustration of enforcement

At RAKH ABOGADOS we are experts in Economic Criminal Law, offering a high-level technical defense against charges of punishable insolvency and frustration of enforcement (historically known as alzamiento de bienes, or fraudulent transfer of assets). In an environment where the line between unfortunate business management and criminal conduct is extremely thin, our proactive intervention is essential to protect the assets and the liberty of directors and companies.

Definition of the offense and its forms

The Criminal Code (Articles 257 to 261 bis) punishes a debtor who, in a situation of crisis or insolvency, knowingly defrauds their creditors. In our practice we distinguish two main strands:

Frustration of enforcement (Art. 257 CP)

This punishes the concealment, transfer, or encumbrance of assets in order to prevent the effectiveness of an attachment or an enforcement proceeding that has been initiated or is about to be initiated.

"El artículo 257.1.2 del Código Penal es aplicable al que dilate, dificulte o impida la eficacia de un embargo o de un procedimiento ejecutivo o de apremio, iniciado o de previsible iniciación, cuando se realice para perjudicar a los acreedores del sujeto actuante."

Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Penal, STS 687/2022, de 22 de febrero de 2022 (ECLI:ES:TS:2022:687), FD 8º.4 — sentencia que, en su fallo, condena expresamente por «un delito de frustración de la ejecución del artículo 257.1.2 del Código Penal»

(Article 257.1.2 of the Criminal Code applies to anyone who delays, hinders, or prevents the effectiveness of an attachment or of an enforcement or collection proceeding, initiated or foreseeably about to be initiated, when carried out to harm the offender's own creditors — from a judgment that, in its ruling, expressly convicts the defendant of "an offense of frustration of enforcement under Article 257.1.2 of the Criminal Code.")

Punishable insolvency in the strict sense (Art. 259 CP)

This requires a situation of current or imminent insolvency and protects the body of creditors as a whole against "bankruptcy" conduct such as the destruction of assets, double accounting, disproportionate expenditure, or sales below production cost.

"La lesión del bien jurídico no se produce porque mediante dichos actos negociales se provoque de forma necesaria una situación de insolvencia sino porque se afecte de forma significativa la eficacia de los mecanismos institucionalizados con los que el ordenamiento jurídico tutela el crédito o el cumplimiento de obligaciones patrimoniales."

Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Penal, STS 2491/2026, de 4 de junio de 2026 (ECLI:ES:TS:2026:2491), FD 4º.1, reiterando la doctrina fijada en la STS 758/2021, de 7 de octubre

(The harm to the protected legal interest does not arise because such transactions necessarily cause a state of insolvency, but because they significantly affect the effectiveness of the institutionalized mechanisms through which the legal order protects credit or the performance of financial obligations — reiterating the doctrine established in STS 758/2021, of 7 October.)

Defense of the director and corporate liability

The consequences of these offenses are serious and are not limited to prison sentences (which can reach up to 6 years for aggravated forms).

Derivation of liability: the director may be ordered to pay the shortfall of the insolvency proceedings out of their own personal assets, which can amount to a financial "civil death."
Liability of legal entities: companies may also face multi-million-euro fines and dissolution if they do not have effective criminal compliance programs in place.

Defense strategy

Our technical defense is built on dismantling the prosecution's case through four strategic pillars:

Economic reality of the transactions: we provide documentary evidence that sales were carried out at market price or that corporate restructurings had a lawful, non-fraudulent purpose.
Application of the business judgment rule: we argue that business decisions made in good faith, with sufficient information and without personal interest, do not amount to criminal intent even if they prove harmful.
Challenging the causal link: we work to demonstrate that the insolvency was due to external causes (a sector-wide crisis, the pandemic, or a supply-chain disruption) and not to the debtor's conduct.
Criminal–commercial coordination: we simultaneously address the classification of the insolvency proceedings to prevent them from being declared "culpable" (concurso culpable, an insolvency proceeding classified under Spanish law as attributable to fault or fraud on the debtor's part), which would drastically weaken any subsequent criminal route.

Forensic analysis and technical evidence

Unlike other approaches, at RAKH ABOGADOS we base our strength on the documentary traceability of every euro. We work with forensic accounting experts to build a technical economic narrative that justifies the management before the judge, always seeking the dismissal of the case or an acquittal.

Is your company in a critical situation or under judicial investigation? Do not let a financial crisis turn into a criminal conviction. At RAKH ABOGADOS we defend your interests with rigor and specialization throughout Spain.