Corruption in Spain


Corruption in Spain is a large concern. Political corruption is defined as the action or inaction of one or more real persons managing public resources for their own or a third party's benefit to the detriment of all the citizens they should serve and benefit. Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013 shows that the surveyed households consider political parties, Parliament and the judiciary the most corrupt institutions. In fact, the Spanish population considers corruption their second biggest problem, only eclipsed by unemployment. Following Spain's return to democracy after the end of the Franco dictatorship, the judiciary became an independent branch of government. In the early part of the 21st century this independent judiciary is active in pursuing political corruption.
On Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index, Spain scored 56 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Spain ranked 46th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Western European and European Union countries was 90, the average score was 64 and the worst score was 41. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8.
Transparency International also rated Spain between 2001 and 2012 using a different methodology for the Corruption Perceptions Index. The average value for Spain during that period was 66.67 points with a maximum of 70 points in 2001 and a minimum of 61 points in 2009. In 2011 it was rated the 30th least corrupt country in the world. According to Politico, 1378 officials were prosecuted for corruption between July 2015 and September 2016.
The occurrence of petty corruption is rare in Spain, according to the Global Competitiveness Report of 2015. Bribery is not widespread in business dealings in Spain, yet companies cite corruption as a business impediment. As suggested in the Business Anti-Corruption Portal, anti-corruption strategies should be significantly strengthened at all levels of the government. One example could be to strengthen investigative and prosecution efforts and enforce existing laws. Corruption in the tax administration is not an obstacle to business. Paying taxes has been made less costly by reducing the rates for corporate income, capital gain and environment taxes, and the time required to pay taxes is lower than the OECD countries’ average. Spanish tax regulations represent a moderate challenge for foreign companies.
Among Spain’s police forces, corruption is not widespread and there are only small isolated cases involving police corruption. The police services are considered reliable in protecting companies from crime, and the necessary mechanisms are in place to investigate and punish abuse and corruption in the police services. There are isolated reports of police corruption, but these are typically resolved effectively by the authorities.

Reign of Philip III of Spain

The period 1598 to 1617 in which Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma held the government on behalf of Philip III was one of the most notoriously corrupt of Spanish regimes. It was infamous because of the self-enrichment activities of his crony bureaucrat, Pedro Franqueza, his secretary, Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva and the Duke of Lerma himself.

19th century

The Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies became famous for her involvement in shady deals that divided the people from the elite. Speculation in the production of salt, construction of railways and even the illegal slave trade, which also involved Ramón María Narváez, 1st Duke of Valencia. It was said that there was no industrial project in which the Queen Mother had no interest. Her fortune was estimated at 300 million Spanish reals.
Following the political chaos of 1868-1874, the new regime introduced a stabilising artificial two-party system, sustained over decades by corrupt elections deliberately designed to double political patronage so that those not currently benefiting from office could simply wait for the next planned change of government.

Francoist Spain

The Nationalist military insurgents won the Spanish Civil War against the democratic Republican government. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Britain and the United States supported the
rebel army and Francoist government in various ways and at various times, but never supported the Second Spanish Republic. During the war, agricultural and industrial production collapsed and the black market - called Straperlo in memory of the homonymous famous scandal - acquired great importance. Economic corruption, classism and nepotism were a basic feature of Francoist Spain and were widespread. Political involvement in it up to the highest levels was absolute: in some cases due to the direct participation of high-ranking officials; in others, due to the protection that the strategists received from power. This took place in an atmosphere of total impunity.
The repercussions of corruption were socially very serious: for the corrupt and their clientele it meant rapid enrichment, while for most of the population it implied privations of all kinds: famine, ignorance, hunger, ruin and misery. Some of the major cases were:
The accession of Juan Carlos I to the Spanish throne saw the advent of a democratic state built on the foundations of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 operated by largely the same institutions that had formerly served Francoist Spain. After some three decades the younger 'democracy generation' of jurists began to investigate issues that had been 'overlooked' by the early reformers in pursuit of creating a peaceful and lasting state.

Corruption cases in the post-Francoist era

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In 1987 a judge in his early thirties, Baltasar Garzón led an investigation which led to the conviction of a former Interior minister, who had adopted a clandestine policy of state terrorism via operations of the Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación, - a collection of criminal gangs who were still fighting Franco's dirty war against the Basque separatist ETA movement. The case was vigorously defended and appealed, to the Constitutional Court of Spain where the sentence was confirmed by four votes to three, and later endorsed by the European Court of Human Rights.

Rumasa and Nueva Rumasa

was founded in 1961 by the family of José María Ruiz Mateos. It originally exported wine to England. In 1983 it had become very large and so debt-ridden that it was nationalized by the socialist PSOE government of Felipe González "in the public interest".
At the time it consisted of more than 700 companies, with a staff that reached 60,000 people, with an annual turnover of about 350,000 million pesetas. Eventually, parts of the empire were re-privatized.
The group was originally rooted primarily in the wine sector, and diversified into banking. Its gradual but massive growth occurred through the acquisition of companies with financial problems so it became a group of companies that supported each other. RUMASA was present in the following sectors:
  • Wine production: Bodegas including,, Bodegas Franco-Españolas, René Barbier, Segura Viudas, Conde de Caral
  • Banking: including the banks, Jerez,, Exbank, AVA, Eurobank, Banfisa
  • Hospitality: The hotel chain "Hotasa"
  • Retail: 22 Department Stores "Galerías Preciados" and Spanish luxury goods "Loewe".
Following the nationalization of his empire Ruiz-Mateos fled to London and started a series of legal cases to recover some of his seized assets. In 1985 he was arrested at Frankfurt airport and extradited to Spain.
The Francoist-leaning Alianza Popular political party failed to persuade the constitutional court to reverse the sequestration. The High Court eventually received a total of 165 claims from Ruiz-Mateos, and eventually resolved a "fair price" settlement
Twelve years later in 1997, the High Court absolved Ruiz-Mateos from the criminal charges, and in 1999 also the civil actions, so that his bail bonds were returned.
The family started a new company with a "Busy Bee" logo that eventually comprised major brands, including The Dhul Food Group, which includes brands Cacaolat, Carcesa, Clesa dairy products, Royne ice cream, Chocolates Trapa.
Wine and beverages include Los Conejos & Gabín Garres liquors, rum, rum-punch, sherry, brandy, and other related products.
The company claimed a total of 10,000 employees and a net worth of almost six billion. It started a huge advertising campaign to attract private investors, and was reprimanded several times by the regulatory authorities, who also issued warnings to existing and potential investors.
In 2011 the firm collapsed with a debt of 700 million Euros spread across some 23 banking institutions, private creditors and government agencies. Most of the debt arose from Dhul an Clesa, which together lost 434 million euros.
In 2012 the founding father José María Ruiz-Mateos was arrested and has again spent time in prison on remand. He is essentially accused of operating a vast pyramid scheme. Two of his sons who ran hotels in Andalucia are formal suspects in the ERE trial process.

Naseiro case

The so-called Naseiro case was a corruption investigation within the People's Party shortly after the arrival of José María Aznar to the party presidency in 1989. A magistrate in the Valencian Community issued an indictment against several members of the People's Party including the party treasurer Rosendo Naseiro and Angel Perales Sanchis, a representative for Valencia, for receiving illegal commissions for the direct awarding of projects and contracts.
Because of the prominence of the accused, the case was heard by the Supreme Court of Spain but shelved for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, the defendants were still strongly suspected of misconduct and expelled from the Popular Party.