Financial Crime World

Spain Confronts Challenges in Combating Organized Crime

Despite cooperation with foreign authorities and a comprehensive legal framework, Spain still faces significant challenges in combating organized crime.

Challenges in Combating Organized Crime

Geographical Location

  • Spain’s geographical location makes it a key transit point for drug trafficking and human smuggling.
  • The country’s large continental territory and numerous islands create difficulties in controlling incoming flows.
  • Despite efforts to combat organized crime, justice is often delayed, and victims are re-victimized.
  • Security and justice operators face bureaucratic obstacles that hinder their ability to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.

Efforts to Combat Organized Crime

Strategic Plan

  • The Spanish government has drafted a strategic plan to inhibit the lucrative nature of criminal activities through an improved tracing and seizing system.
  • The Asset Recovery and Management Office has been reinforced to combat money laundering.

Judicial System

  • The Spanish judicial system has been effective in prosecuting individual actors who commit certain organized crime offenses, such as drug mules and small-scale thieves.
  • However, it faces challenges when investigating larger mafia-style groups or organized criminal networks due to concerns over police and judicial corruption linked to organized crime.

Prison System and Police Force

Prison System

  • Spain’s prison system meets most international standards, but conditions are not always adequate.
  • Healthcare standards inside some detention facilities have been found lacking.

Police Force

  • The country’s police force is effective, with a range of specialized units dedicated to issues of organized crime.
  • However, cooperation remains one of its strongest points, and challenges within the force remain, including the lack of preparedness to control mafia groups and protect victims of related crimes.

Money Laundering

Hub for Money Laundering

  • Spain has been identified as a hub for money laundering, with illegally obtained capital from drug trafficking being channeled into properties such as shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, and apartments.
  • Despite efforts to counter this, organized crime groups continue to use legal companies in certain sectors to launder money.

Challenges Ahead

Government Measures

  • The Spanish government has taken measures to improve its response to organized crime, including passing legislation and establishing a commission to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
  • However, authorities still face challenges when attempting to confiscate property and economic assets, and effective mechanisms to follow money trails related to organized crime are yet to be consolidated.

Business Environment

  • Small companies in Spain face difficulties in accessing credit, and corruption in public procurement and money laundering cases is a significant issue, particularly in the housing sector.
  • Cooperative alliances between criminal groups and legal companies do occur, although organized crime is not yet a significant impediment to conducting business in Spain.

Victims’ Rights

Handling of Victims’ Rights

  • The Spanish government has been criticized for its handling of victims’ rights, with concerns over the identification of victims and ineffective protection of witnesses.
  • Women victims of human trafficking face particular challenges, as they are required to cooperate in investigations and testify against their captors.

New Crime Prevention Strategies

Predictive Policing Programs

  • Spain is working to develop new crime prevention strategies, including predictive policing programs and prevention campaigns with the private sector.
  • The national strategy against organized crime prioritizes intelligence gathering for the prevention and anticipation of threats.

Non-State Actors

Anti-Corruption Associations

  • Non-state actors in Spain, such as anti-corruption associations, whistle-blowers, and civil society organizations, play a vital role in combating organized crime, particularly human trafficking.
  • While the media reports on organized crime without fear of retaliation, there have been cases where journalists have faced harassment and physical assault by protesters and the police while covering demonstrations.

Conclusion

Overall, Spain’s efforts to combat organized crime are hampered by challenges in its legal framework, law enforcement practices, and economic environment. However, the country is taking steps to address these issues and improve its response to this serious threat.