fight against money laundering requires increasingly complex tools. Security forces and bodies in Spain each year attend to tens of thousands of alerts from banks, registrars or notaries about suspicious activity, and conduct thousands of investigations into increasingly complex plots that are concealed by changing techniques.
Regardless, criminals can find the windows of opportunity offered by the legislation. No more legal loopholes Affected by international sanctions, Russian oligarchs take advantage Those who are trying to economically strangle Russian President Vladimir Putin’s circle and prevent them from financing the military invasion of Ukraine.
This Registration College “legal vacuum” warning A gateway in Spain that could facilitate money laundering and concealment of assets. And that limited liability companies don’t have to publicly and credibly disclose all of their partners in the Registry and it’s worth having. a ‘common book’ private in the hands of the company manager.
In the field of Spanish census takers, the Government has changed the regulations in force since the late 1980s and it is mandatory for all companies to submit a list of all partners to the Trade Registry Notifying changes in ownership with participation in the company and when they occur is a requirement that has already been established as a way to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing in other European countries through corporate networks and intermediaries, and is currently useful to impose sanctions against these Russian oligarchs.
“Today in Spain there is no way to know who the partner of a limited company is. Other countries have a list of partners of companies in their Business Registers”, point out from the College of Registrars. “The chain of control of companies is known in other European countries. In Spain, no”.
Against the extras
The Union of Registrars has recommended to the Executive Board that this change should include this change as part of a package of measures to strengthen the act of encirclement of Russian oligarchs, which was approved by the Cabinet this week. But the Ministry of Justice has chosen to approve an exceptional system that makes it easier for real estate, commercial and movable property registrars to immobilize the assets of Russian oligarchs in Spain, which are concealed through extras and shell companies.
This would require a prior report from the State Security Forces and Bodies based on “the existence of reasonable indications” that the real owner of the assets may be a Russian oligarch under investigation. “The reform highlights the intention of the Spanish Government that no Russian oligarch should finance the war waged against Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin’s properties in Spain,” the Ministry of Justice said. If the goods registered in their names have already been seized, action is also taken on the assets that may be on behalf of third parties.
In the last few weeks, State security forces and bodies, the prosecutor’s office, registrars, notaries and banks They cooperate to enable the immobilization of assets on behalf of oligarchs affected by the sanctions on the Kremlin periphery. The government now wants to go further and encourage the exploration of hidden heritage through front companies and intermediaries.
Legal experts do not agree with this type of “confiscation authority” from the Russian oligarchs. While some do not find such a measure of the Public Administration extraordinary and validates the system, others question whether it is considered a “preventive embargo” outside of any judicial review. from The College of Registrars understands that the rule respects the rights of oligarchs. As their inclusion on the sanctioned list is subject to appeal with community authorities and the owner of the property will be notified, those whose assets have been blocked will be reported to the owner so that he can take appropriate action to prove that this action has not been taken. suitable.