The crime of extortion has increased in Spain in recent years. Our lawyers have made this article to explain what it is and what you can do.
Why has this crime increased in recent years?
Mainly because of the use of technology. The majority of new extortion crimes refer to the so-called: “sextortion”.
Now everyone has a camera on their mobile. The extortionists too and they can take a photo of you in a compromising situation. More often than not, extortionists trick people into sending them compromising photos and then extort money from them. If they finally do it, they will also commit a crime of revenge porn or reveal secrets.
There are also other types of extortion, for example, imposing on another through acts of physical violence or intimidation so that the victim “gifts” or donates something to the offender. That is the most common extortion.
Is extortion a crime?
Yes, definitely, it is a serious crime. In fact, this crime has a penalty of 1 to 5 years of imprisonment.
The Spanish criminal code includes the crime of extortion in art. 243 that punishes whoever, for profit, forces another, with violence or intimidation, to carry out or omit an act or legal transaction to the detriment of her or a third party’s patrimony.
Difference between robbery and extortion
The main difference is that in the robbery the subject directly seizes something.
For its part, extortion seeks for the victim to perform an action or omission, in order to seize the aggressor of that something (money, goods…). Therefore, the seizure would be more indirect.
Can I comment on the crime of extortion together with other crimes?
Yes, you can. For example, if a person injures someone to make that person do or not do something, there would be two crimes, injury crime and extortion.
Another scenario is if a person locks someone up from doing something, in which case it could be extortion and unlawful detention.
Civil liability in the crime of extortion.
Obviously the offender must compensate the victim for the damages.
Said compensation refers to economic damages but not only to them. Moral damages caused must also be compensated.
In case of injuries, the victim must also receive monetary compensation for the physical sequelae or aftermath and for the days of recovery.
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