Examination, Reporting, Abstention & Tipping-Off

The sequence, in order

In force nowLey 10/2010, arts. 17, 18, 19 and 24

Spanish law sets out a specific chain of duties. Knowing the order is what turns a vague worry into a defensible response.

• 1. Special examination (art. 17) — examine, with particular attention, any operation or pattern that shows indications of being linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.
• 2. Report by indication (art. 18) — where the examination reveals indications or certainty, the firm reports to SEPBLAC through the representative before SEPBLAC.
• 3. Abstention (art. 19) — do not execute the operation where the law requires abstention.
• 4. Prohibition of disclosure (art. 24) — never reveal the examination or the report to the client or a third party.

Special examination (examen especial)

In force nowLey 10/2010, art. 17

Before you can know whether there is something to report, you must actually look. The special examination is a documented review of the facts, the parties, the funds and the rationale of an operation, carried out with particular attention and recorded in writing. In a real estate firm this normally means the file goes to the internal control body with a written note.

• What triggered the concern, and when.
• What the operation is, who the parties are and how it is funded.
• What explanation the client gave, and whether it is consistent with the documentation.
• The conclusion reached and the reasons for it — including where the conclusion is that there is nothing to report. A negative conclusion that is written down protects the firm.

Reporting to SEPBLAC — who reports, and how

In force nowLey 10/2010, arts. 18, 21 and 26

The obligation to report belongs to the obliged subject, and communications go to SEPBLAC through the firm's representative before SEPBLAC (representante ante el SEPBLAC). As an individual agent or advisor, your duty is to escalate internally, immediately and in writing. You do not file with SEPBLAC yourself, and you do not go to the police instead.

• Report by indication (comunicación por indicio): made whenever there is an indication or certainty that funds are linked to money laundering or terrorist financing — no proof, no conviction and no minimum amount is required.
• Reports must be made without delay once the indication is established.
• Reporting in good faith carries legal protection: disclosure made in compliance with the law does not breach confidentiality restrictions and does not create liability.
• Your firm must also be able to answer requests for information from SEPBLAC.

Abstention from execution (deber de abstención)

In force nowLey 10/2010, art. 19

Where the law requires abstention, you must not carry out the operation. This is the duty most often missed by client-facing staff, because commercial pressure runs the other way.

• Refrain from executing operations where there are indications or certainty of a link to money laundering or terrorist financing, and report them first.
• Where abstaining is not possible, or where abstaining would frustrate the investigation of the beneficiaries, the operation may be carried out — but it must be reported immediately afterwards, with the reasons for not abstaining recorded.
• Abstention is a decision for the internal control body or representative before SEPBLAC, on escalation — not something an individual agent decides alone, and not something they override alone either.

Prohibition of disclosure — tipping-off

In force nowLey 10/2010, art. 24

You must not reveal to the customer, or to any third party, that a report has been made, that information has been provided to SEPBLAC, or that a special examination is being or may be carried out. This prohibition is absolute in its scope and is one of the most serious breaches in the entire regime. It is also easy to breach accidentally.

• Do not say: 'we have to report this', 'compliance has flagged you', 'there's an AML issue with your file', or 'I can't tell you why, it's a money laundering thing'.
• Do not hint through delay explanations, body language, forwarded internal emails, or a WhatsApp message to the buyer's lawyer.
• Do say: 'we are completing our standard checks and I will come back to you as soon as I can'. Neutral, true, and consistent with what you tell every client.
• The prohibition does not prevent you from asking the client ordinary due diligence questions or requesting documents — those are normal and expected.
• Communication within the firm to the internal control body, and to the authorities, is permitted; the prohibition protects the report, not the wrongdoer.

Escalate, and never stay silent

In force nowLey 10/2010, arts. 17 and 30

Suspicion does not require certainty or proof. If something is inconsistent, evasive or commercially illogical, raise it. Failing to escalate is itself a compliance failure — and staff who report internally in good faith are protected. Firms must have a channel that allows employees to report breaches internally, with protection for those who use it.

• Reluctance to disclose the beneficial owner
• Funds arriving from unexpected jurisdictions or unrelated parties
• Transaction structures with no commercial logic
• Pressure to bypass standard procedures or to complete unusually fast
• Inconsistent client information across documents

Document what you saw and what you did

Write it down at the time, not weeks later: what you observed, the date, who you told, and what happened next. Internal records are what demonstrate that the control actually operated. A firm with good records and one missed judgement call is in a very different position from a firm with no records at all.