Economic abuse (violencia económica) is the control, restriction or deprivation of your money, property or income to make you dependent on your partner or ex-partner. There is not yet an offence with that name in the Spanish Criminal Code (Código Penal), but many of its forms are criminal offences: non-payment of maintenance (art. 227 CP), family abandonment (art. 226), coercion, habitual abuse, fraudulent concealment of assets or breach of fiduciary duty. It can be reported at a police station, a court or the Public Prosecutor’s Office, with documentary evidence.
When your partner decides what you spend money on, cuts off your access to the account or stops paying your children’s maintenance to “punish” you, it is not just an argument about money. It is a form of violence that leaves few visible marks but can tie you to a relationship for years. Here we explain when the law punishes it and what steps you can take.
What economic abuse is
Economic abuse consists of using money and assets as a tool of control, so that you depend on the abuser and find it impossible to leave.
The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, ratified by Spain in 2014, expressly recognises it: it defines violence against women as gender-based acts that result in harm or suffering “of a physical, sexual, psychological or economic nature” (art. 3). In the Valencian Region (Comunitat Valenciana), Law 7/2012 on comprehensive measures against violence against women defines it as “any limitation, deprivation not legally justified or discrimination in the disposal of her property, assets or economic rights”, both while living together and after the break-up (art. 3.4).
The State Pact against Gender Violence (Pacto de Estado contra la Violencia de Género), renewed by the Spanish Parliament (Congreso) on 26 February 2025, added it as a new area of action and proposes creating a specific offence. That reform has not yet been approved, so for now it is prosecuted through existing offences.
How it shows itself
- Preventing you from working or studying.
- Controlling every expense, demanding receipts or giving you an inadequate “allowance”.
- Cutting off your access to accounts, cards or online banking passwords.
- Taking out loans or using your cards in your name without your consent.
- Hiding income or assets, or emptying the joint account before the separation.
- Not paying child maintenance, or paying it late and only in part to wear you down.
This is not a marginal phenomenon. According to the Ministry of Equality’s 2024 Macro-survey on Violence against Women (Macroencuesta de Violencia contra la Mujer), published in December 2025, 11.7 % of women living in Spain have suffered economic abuse from a partner at some point in their lives, and 11 % of women with children say that their ex-partner has stopped paying child maintenance at least once.
When economic abuse is a criminal offence
Each type of conduct needs to be analysed. These are the most common offences:
| Conduct | Offence | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Failing to pay maintenance set by a judge for 2 consecutive months or 4 non-consecutive months | Non-payment of maintenance (art. 227 CP) | 3 months to 1 year in prison or a fine of 6 to 24 months, plus payment of the amount owed |
| Failing to fulfil duties of support towards children or a spouse in need | Family abandonment (art. 226 CP) | 3 to 6 months in prison or a fine of 6 to 12 months |
| Forcing you, through violence or intimidation, to hand over money, sign documents or stop working | Coercion (art. 172 CP); if minor and committed against a female partner or ex-partner, art. 172.2 | Up to 3 years in prison; under art. 172.2, 6 months to 1 year or community service |
| Economic control as part of an ongoing pattern of domination | Habitual abuse (art. 173.2 CP), which includes psychological violence | 6 months to 3 years in prison, in addition to the penalties for each act |
| Hiding or selling assets to avoid paying what you owe | Fraudulent concealment of assets (alzamiento de bienes, art. 257 CP) | 1 to 4 years in prison and a fine |
| Disposing of your money or property that they managed, to your detriment | Breach of fiduciary duty or misappropriation (administración desleal or apropiación indebida, arts. 252 and 253 CP) | Depending on the amount |
Two points you should know
Non-payment of maintenance requires a complaint. The offences in articles 226 and 227 can only be prosecuted if the injured party or their legal representative reports them; the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Fiscal) can do so when the victim is a minor or particularly vulnerable (art. 228 CP). That is why it is important not to let time pass.
The exemption between spouses. Article 268 CP exempts spouses from criminal (but not civil) liability for property offences committed against each other, provided there is no violence, intimidation or abuse of the victim’s vulnerability. This exemption does not apply if you are already legally or de facto separated, or if separation, divorce or annulment proceedings are under way. In practice, many financial manoeuvres that take place just after the break-up can indeed be prosecuted.
Important: not all of these offences are investigated by the same court section. The Violence against Women Sections of the Courts of First Instance (Secciones de Violencia sobre la Mujer de los Tribunales de Instancia, formerly the Violence against Women Courts) deal with non-payment of maintenance and other offences against family relations when the victim is the woman or her children, and with offences committed with violence or intimidation. Fraudulent concealment of assets without violence usually goes to the ordinary Investigating Section (Sección de Instrucción).
How to prove economic abuse
Economic abuse almost always leaves a paper trail. The difficulty lies in showing that isolated incidents form a pattern of control. Gather the following, organised and dated:
- Bank statements for your own and joint accounts: withdrawals, transfers, changes of passwords.
- A CIRBE report from the Bank of Spain (the central credit register), which you can request to check whether there are loans or credit in your name that you are unaware of.
- Messages, emails and audio recordings in which you are refused money, made to account for spending or threatened with being left with nothing.
- The judgment or separation agreement (convenio regulador) and a table showing each monthly payment that was not paid or only partly paid.
- Your employment history report (informe de vida laboral), if you were prevented from working.
- Witnesses from your circle, reports from specialist services and, in complex cases, a forensic accounting report.
If you want to learn more about how to organise your evidence, our gender violence evidence guide will be useful. And if the economic control comes with humiliation or isolation, also read how to prove psychological abuse.
How to report it, step by step
- Get advice first, if you can, to find out which offences apply and what measures to request.
- File the complaint at a National Police (Policía Nacional) or Guardia Civil station, at the duty court (juzgado de guardia) or with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In Alicante, if the person reported is your partner or ex-partner, the case will go to the Violence against Women Section of the Alicante Court of First Instance (Sección de Violencia sobre la Mujer del Tribunal de Instancia de Alicante) where it falls within its jurisdiction.
- Provide the documents from day one: a specific, well-documented complaint reduces the risk of dismissal.
- Request protection measures if there is a risk. A protection order (orden de protección) can include civil measures such as child maintenance or use of the family home.
- Join the proceedings as private prosecutor (acusación particular) so that you can take part, request evidence and claim what you are owed.
Civil measures to regain your independence
The civil route is the one that allows you to regain financial stability, often more quickly:
- Interim or preliminary measures before filing for separation or divorce: child maintenance, contribution to family expenses, use of the home and, where appropriate, spousal support (pensión compensatoria).
- Enforcement of the family court judgment for unpaid maintenance, with attachment of wages, accounts or assets.
- Maintenance Payment Guarantee Fund (Fondo de Garantía del Pago de Alimentos), which advances certain amounts to children when the paying parent does not pay and the family meets the income requirements.
When criminal proceedings for gender violence are under way, the divorce and the measures concerning the children are transferred to the Violence against Women Section, and the law prohibits mediation. We explain this in detail on our page on divorce with gender violence. See also the financial aid for victims, because certification as a victim gives access to specific rights.
If you are the one who has been reported
A complaint is not a conviction. For the offence of non-payment to exist, case law requires the failure to pay to be wilful: a genuine and proven inability to pay is decisive. But do not simply stop paying: if your circumstances have changed, apply for a modification of measures and keep evidence of your real income. If you have been reported, you should have specialist legal defence from your very first statement.
Frequently asked questions
Is economic abuse a criminal offence in Spain?
There is no offence called “economic abuse”, but most of its forms fall within existing offences: non-payment of maintenance (art. 227 CP), family abandonment (art. 226), coercion (art. 172), habitual abuse (art. 173.2), fraudulent concealment of assets (art. 257) or breach of fiduciary duty (art. 252). The State Pact renewed in 2025 proposes creating a specific offence, which has not yet been approved.
How many months of non-payment are needed to file a criminal complaint?
Article 227 of the Criminal Code punishes failing to pay, for two consecutive months or four non-consecutive months, a financial obligation set out in a court-approved agreement or a court decision. You can claim earlier through the civil courts by enforcing the judgment. The criminal route requires your complaint, except in cases involving minor or vulnerable victims, where the Prosecutor can act.
Can I report it if we are married and still living together?
Yes. Coercion, habitual abuse or non-payment of court-ordered maintenance can be reported at any time. What you should know is that article 268 of the Criminal Code exempts spouses who are not separated from punishment for property offences committed without violence or intimidation, such as breach of fiduciary duty. That exemption no longer applies if there is a de facto separation or divorce proceedings are under way.
Does economic abuse count as gender violence?
The Istanbul Convention and Valencian Law 7/2012 expressly consider it a form of violence against women. Organic Law 1/2004 refers to physical and psychological violence, and in practice economic control is assessed as part of psychological violence. In addition, non-payment of maintenance to the woman or the children is investigated by the Violence against Women Section when the person reported is her partner or ex-partner.
If you recognise any of these behaviours, you do not have to decide what to do on your own. With 20 years of experience in criminal law, Celeste Pérez Bleda will help you assess your case and choose the most effective route. Find out how we work in defending women who are victims of gender violence and in non-payment of maintenance and family abandonment, or call us on 607 449 491, available 24 hours a day.
Legal basis and sources
- Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), arts. 172, 173, 226, 227, 228, 252, 253, 257 and 268 (BOE, in Spanish)
- Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), art. 3 (BOE, in Spanish)
- Organic Law 1/2004 on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence (BOE, in Spanish)
- Law 7/2012 on comprehensive measures against violence against women in the Valencian Region, art. 3 (BOE, in Spanish)
- Organic Law 6/1985 on the Judiciary, art. 89 (Violence against Women Sections) (BOE, in Spanish)
- Ministry of Equality: 2024 Macro-survey on Violence against Women (December 2025, in Spanish)
- La Moncloa: renewal of the State Pact against Gender Violence (26/02/2025, in Spanish)
