The Superior Court of Justice of Galicia has confirmed the acquittal of two people accused of various crimes related to the management of a family inheritance, including misappropriation, fraud and document falsification. Although the private prosecution raised suspicions about certain operations carried out in shared bank accounts and the authenticity of documents related to the inheritance, the court determined that the necessary elements to justify a criminal conviction were not proven.
It all started in 2019, after the death of a man who had shared two bank accounts with his sister-in-law since 2007. In his will, it was established that The inheritance would be divided among 20 heirs, including the sister-in-law and her daughterwho were later charged. These accounts, which accumulated a total balance of 96,242.96 euros (71,628 euros in a CaixaBank account and 24,614.96 euros in one of Abanca), became the central axis of the conflict, especially after the withdrawals of 35,814 euros and 12,000 euros made by the sister-in-law before and after the deathrespectively.
Money transfers, the reason for the conflict over inheritance
While the man was admitted in a terminal state, the joint owner of the accounts made a first transfer of 35,814 euros to an account in the name of her and her husband. Later, after death, he carried out a second transfer of 12,000 euros from the other shared account to an account owned exclusively by his daughter. These operations raised suspicions among other heirs and gave rise to a legal dispute, since the money withdrawn reduced the balance available to distribute among all beneficiaries of the inheritance.
The management of these accounts and the inheritance aroused misgivings among the heirs. One of these people, who acted as a private prosecutor, alleged that there were serious irregularities, pointing out that the transfers were made improperly and that his signature had been forged in documents related to the settlement of the Inheritance Tax. These accusations gave rise to criminal proceedings that were initially addressed in a lower court in 2020.
During the process, Not only the legitimacy of the transfers was questionedbut also the claim of the accused to the heirs for expenses related to burial and other arrangements. According to the ruling, one of the accused requested 450.11 euros from each heir to cover these expenses, a practice that was accepted by the majority, although three people chose not to make said payment. Even so, the evidence presented was not sufficient to support the charges of misappropriation, fraud and falsification of documents, which is why they were acquitted.
After this resolution, by the Provincial Court, the private prosecution, represented by one of the heirs, filed an appeal before the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia. The prosecution sought the revocation of the acquittal and a conviction for the crimes of misappropriation, fraud and document falsification.
They don’t see enough signs
In the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia, the presumption of innocence of the accused was reaffirmed, a principle included in article 24 of the Spanish Constitution. According to the court, this principle implies that any reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the accused and that “The same assessment parameters cannot be applied as in conviction sentences.”. Likewise, he recalled that control in appeal must focus on the coherence and justification of the appealed sentence, without re-examining the evidence presented at trial.
In its ruling, the court made reference to the doctrine established in similar cases, citing the Ruling of the Constitutional Court 72/2024which states that appellate review should be limited to “control of reasonableness of the initial decision, without introducing new facts or replacing the evidentiary assessment of the trial court”.
In this context, the TSXG concluded that There were no legal or factual grounds to revoke the acquittal of the accused.. According to the ruling, “The evidence presented did not conclusively demonstrate the elements of the criminal offenses charged.”. Furthermore, the court considered that the discrepancies between the heirs regarding The management of inheritance funds should be resolved in civil proceedings, not in criminal proceedings..
Finally, the TSXG dismissed the appeal, confirming the acquittal issued by the Provincial Court of Ourense. Regarding the sentence, the TSJ emphasizes that although the criminal route is exhausted, there is the possibility of resorting to civil means to resolve this economic conflict over the distribution of the inheritance.