Spain — Country Risk Report

Spain (Europe • Southern Europe). Risk report as of the 19 Jun 2026 FATF plenary.

Low country risk. Spain's country risk score is 2.3/10, placing it in the low-risk band. The principal driver is weak corruption. Spain is not currently FATF grey- or black-listed. Spain is not subject to comprehensive country-wide sanctions.

Recommended treatment

Standard due diligence.

At a glance

  • FATF status: Not currently listed (one indicator only; it does not set the overall country risk rating by itself)
  • Comprehensive country sanctions: none identified. Targeted sanctions exposure: possible, screen applicable persons, entities and sectors
  • Government effectiveness and rule of law: 3.1/10
  • Corruption (CPI 2025): 55/100, rank #49 of 182
  • Enforcement: 102 actions from 1 regulator

Country Risk Score: 2.3/10 (Low)

Higher score means higher country risk (global average 4.6). Full information available. Limited supporting information. Enforcement activity and CPI are shown for context but do not change the score.

All three parts of the score are available.

How this score was calculated

  • Financial crime controls: 2.7/10 — 50% of this score
  • Government effectiveness and rule of law: 3.1/10 — 30% of this score
  • International sanctions: 0.0/10 — 20% of this score
  • The FATF assessment is more than eight years old.

International sanctions contributes 0.0 because the complete UN, UK, EU and US review found no direct country-level sanctions programme. People or organisations connected to the country may still appear on sanctions lists.

Show the exact calculation

aml 2.7 × 50% + governance 3.1 × 30% + sanctions 0 × 20% = 2.3; final 2.3

Principal risk drivers

  • Government effectiveness and rule of law drive the score; no FATF listing or direct country-level sanctions were identified

Mitigating factors

  • Not currently on the FATF grey or black list.
  • No comprehensive country-wide sanctions programme.
  • Comparatively stronger voice and accountability (2.3/10).
  • Overall governance and institutional quality are relatively strong.

Business impact

  • Customer onboarding (Low): Additional ownership and control verification may be required.
  • Payments and transactions (Low): Review transaction purpose, counterparties and geographic routing.
  • Trade and export activity (Low): Screen goods, end users and potential dual-use exposure.
  • Corporate clients (Low): Assess state ownership, government links and political exposure.
  • Ongoing monitoring (Low): Apply alerts for ownership changes, sanctions and geopolitical developments.

Recommended controls

  • Verify ultimate beneficial ownership using more than one reliable source.
  • Identify state ownership, government influence and politically exposed persons.
  • Screen entities, directors and beneficial owners against applicable sanctions lists.
  • Apply enhanced review to technology, defence, telecommunications, financial services and dual-use activity.
  • Document transaction purpose and source of funds where cross-border structures are complex.
  • Escalate unresolved ownership opacity or adverse information to Compliance.

Enhanced due diligence triggers

  • State ownership / control
  • PEP involvement
  • Sensitive / restricted sectors
  • Opaque ownership
  • Adverse media
  • Dual-use goods & technology
  • High-risk intermediary routing

FATF status: Not currently listed

Spain is not on the FATF grey or black list as of the 19 Jun 2026 plenary.

Source details

International sanctions by issuing body

  • UN: No
  • EU: No
  • UK: No
  • US: No

No means the complete UN, UK, EU and US review found no direct country-level programme. People or organisations may still appear on sanctions lists.

Government effectiveness and rule of law (World Bank 2024, percentile)

  • Government Effectiveness: 73/100
  • Regulatory Quality: 65/100
  • Rule of Law: 73/100

Enforcement activity

RegActions tracks 102 enforcement actions from 1 regulator in Spain.

The composite RegActions Country Risk Score does not use enforcement volume.

Regulators and legal framework

FATF network

FATF member.

Last mutual evaluation: 2014 · report

National regulators

FIU: Egmont Group member (SEPBLAC)

Framework signals

  • FATF listing: Not currently listed
  • International sanctions: no listed programme identified
  • BO register: Public (live since 2018)
  • Corruption (CPI 2025): 55/100, rank #49 of 182
  • Rule of law (WGI): 3.0/10 risk

Sector exposure

  • Banking & payments (Low): No FATF listing, rule-of-law governance within normal range
  • Trade & export controls (Low): No sanctions programme or FATF black-list constraint identified
  • Crypto & virtual assets (Low): No FATF listing, accountability governance within normal range
  • Real estate & luxury assets (Low): Corruption indicators within normal range for high-value assets
  • State-linked & procurement (Low): Political-stability and corruption governance within normal range

Derived from sanctions tier, FATF listing, World Bank WGI governance and CPI; no per-sector dataset is asserted.

Spain: analysis

Spain's profile is determined entirely by its governance indicators. Corruption (moderate) is the weakest domain, consistent with the CPI reading, which is mid-range for Western Europe. Rule of law and institutions (strong) and voice and accountability (strong) are comparatively robust, reflecting Spain's mature democratic and legal framework. Political stability (moderate) adds a modest additional risk element. The CNMV's 94 enforcement actions in 2023 to 2024 signal sustained regulatory vigilance in securities markets. Spain is not on the FATF grey or black list and faces no sanctions exposure. Spain sits in the upper tier of the World Bank governance indicators, confirming a broadly sound institutional environment.

Outlook

Spain's risk profile is stable. Continued CNMV enforcement activity and EU AML framework application support supervisory credibility. Firms should monitor corruption-related developments, particularly in public contracting and real estate sectors, which have historically attracted scrutiny. No FATF or sanctions deterioration is indicated by current facts.

Key watchpoints

  • Ongoing CNMV enforcement trends and any extension of supervisory scrutiny to AML-specific matters.
  • Corruption exposure in public procurement, real estate, and politically exposed person relationships.
  • Implementation and enforcement quality of EU AML directives at national level.
  • Political stability developments that could affect institutional effectiveness.

Assessment currency

  • FATF status: Not listed (as of 19 Jun 2026)
  • Sanctions exposure: None identified (as of Jul 2026)
  • Governance (WGI): Latest dataset incorporated (as of 2024)
  • Corruption (CPI): 55/100 (as of 2025)
  • RegActions assessment: Reviewed (as of 19 Jun 2026)

Public evidence layer

FATF action: none. No FATF call-for-action or increased-monitoring status was identified at the latest plenary. This does not establish low risk.

Contextual signals (not scored)

  • FATF network membership: Direct FATF member (present, as of 2026-07)
  • EU non-cooperative tax jurisdictions: Not listed in Annex I (absent, as of 2026-02-17)
  • Egmont Group FIU: SEPBLAC (present, as of 2026-07-17)
  • Beneficial-ownership register: Public (live since 2018) (present, as of 2026-07-17)
  • Transparency International CPI: 55/100, rank 49 (present, as of 2025)

Evidence freshness

  • FATF monitored-jurisdiction status: current; data 2026-06-19
  • FATF mutual evaluation and follow-up ratings: current; data 2026-07-31; follow-up 2019-12; base assessment 2014-12
  • World Bank governance indicators: current; data 2024
  • UN, UK, EU and US sanctions regimes: current; data 2026-08-13

Contextual signals are public evidence only and do not change the immutable v2 score.

Download evidence PDF · CSV · JSON

Regional peer scores

FAQ

Is Spain on the FATF grey list?

No. Spain is not on the FATF grey or black list as of the 19 Jun 2026 plenary. FATF listing is one AML indicator; absence from the list does not by itself make Spain low risk. The next FATF plenary review is scheduled for Oct 2026.

Is Spain subject to sanctions?

No country-level programme was identified. In the approved RegActions snapshot, no comprehensive or targeted country-wide sanctions programme was found for Spain, but individual listed persons may still exist, so firms should continue to screen counterparties against the applicable lists.

What is Spain's country risk rating?

RegActions rates Spain at 2.3/10 (Low risk), where a higher score means higher country risk. The score combines financial crime controls, government effectiveness and rule of law, and international sanctions. Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index scores Spain 55/100 (rank #49 of 182).

What due diligence applies to Spain?

Standard due diligence. This is decision-support based on Spain's FATF status, governance and sanctions signals, and is not a substitute for a firm's own risk assessment.

How much enforcement activity is tracked for Spain?

RegActions tracks 102 enforcement actions from 1 regulator in Spain. Enforcement volume measures regulator activity, not country risk, so it is shown as evidence but never fed into the RegActions Country Risk Score.

Source: FATF black & grey lists · World Bank WGI (CC BY 4.0 — World Bank WGI) · TI CPI (CC BY-ND 4.0 — Transparency International, display only)