We defend companies and directors in investigations for customs fraud, smuggling and tax offences.
Companies in the transport, logistics, international trade and nautical sectors operate in a specific and growing criminal risk environment. The operational complexity of the sector — subcontracting chains, customs operations, international cargo movements, relations with public authorities — generates exposure to certain criminal offences that, in many cases, the company has not identified or managed preventively. At Vectoris Legal we provide criminal law and compliance advice to companies in the sector, both in the preventive dimension and in defence against criminal proceedings.
Since the reform of the Spanish Criminal Code under Organic Law 1/2015, legal persons can be criminally liable for offences committed by their directors, managers or employees in the exercise of business activities. The only way to exonerate or mitigate that liability is to demonstrate that the company had an adequate and effective criminal compliance system in place before the offence occurred.
In the transport, logistics and international trade sector, the most relevant criminal risks are specific: customs fraud, smuggling, tax offences arising from international trade irregularities, corruption in dealings with customs officials or port authority personnel, money laundering through international transport operations, and road traffic offences with heavy goods vehicles. We design and implement criminal compliance programmes tailored to each company's actual operations, including risk assessment, compliance system design, ethics and whistleblowing channels compliant with the Whistleblower Protection Act 2/2023, compliance officer function, training and gap analysis audits.
The boundary between an administrative customs infringement and a criminal offence is not always clear. While an administrative infringement is resolved with a fine, the smuggling offence under Organic Law 12/1995 and the tax offence under Article 305 of the Spanish Criminal Code can mean prison sentences of up to six years for directors and managers. The most frequent cases in practice: systematic undervaluation of imports, introduction of smuggled goods into the logistics chain, fraudulent use of special customs procedures and falsification of certificates of origin to benefit from undue tariff preferences.
The nautical sector generates its own criminal typology: marine pollution (hydrocarbon discharges under Articles 325 et seq. of the Criminal Code), smuggling in maritime operations, navigation safety offences, tax offences in the nautical sector and money laundering — the superyacht market is a high-risk environment for money laundering. We advise on due diligence controls and defend against investigations by these criminal typologies.
When a company internally detects indicia of irregular conduct, the most appropriate response is to open an internal investigation before going to the authorities or before the authorities arrive. A well-conducted internal investigation allows the company to know the real extent of the problem, preserve evidence with procedural value and, if appropriate, present itself to the authorities in a proactive position.
Tell us about your matter and we will get back to you within 24 hours.