Guardia Civil discovers €100,000 cash hidden in very surprising place during Spain road check

A routine stop on a Spanish motorway took an unexpected turn when Guardia Civil officers discovered €100,000 in cash hidden inside the car, tucked away in a place most people would never think to look.

The money was found during an operation on the A-31 in the municipality of Albacete, where officers from the Guardia Civil’s Citizen Security Unit stopped a car and identified its driver, reported by Europa Press on Wednesday September 30

He was the only person travelling in the vehicle. What happened next led officers to a hidden stash containing hundreds of €50 notes.

Cash hidden beside the spare wheel

During a search of the vehicle and the driver’s belongings, officers discovered a shoe box concealed next to the car’s spare wheel.

Inside was €100,000 in cash.

The driver, who is a Spanish citizen, was unable to provide evidence establishing the lawful origin of the money, according to the Guardia Civil. The entire amount was therefore seized while officers investigate where the cash came from.

The discovery was made during a specific security operation on the A-31 after the driver attracted the attention of officers carrying out checks on the road. The Guardia Civil said the money was being transported without the required declaration.

Why €100,000 is an important figure

Carrying large amounts of cash in Spain is not automatically illegal, but there are declaration requirements designed to help prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

For domestic movements of cash within Spain, the threshold requiring a declaration is €100,000.

Anyone transporting €100,000 or more in cash must therefore carry the appropriate S1 declaration of means of payment.

In this case, the money was not accompanied by the required documentation, leading officers to intervene and report the person who claimed to own it for an administrative offence under Spain’s Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.

The investigation into the origin of the €100,000 is now continuing.

The form drivers carrying cash need to know about

The Guardia Civil has used the case to remind the public about the S1 declaration, which applies to the movement of significant amounts of cash.

For domestic movements within Spain, the form is required when the amount being transported is equal to or greater than €100,000.

The rules are stricter when money is being moved across an international border.

For cross-border movements, a declaration is required when the amount reaches €10,000 or its equivalent in another currency.

The S1 declaration is intended to provide authorities with information about the cash being transported and its origin and destination.

It can be obtained through Spain’s Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offences (Sepblac), as well as the website of the Secretariat-General of the Treasury and International Financing and the Spanish Tax Agency.

The Albacete incident is not the first time Guardia Civil officers have uncovered large sums of undeclared cash being transported along the A-31.

The latest case, however, has once again highlighted how routine motorway checks can uncover substantial amounts of money being moved around Spain, particularly when cash is concealed inside vehicles.

In this instance, the discovery hinged on a surprisingly ordinary-looking object: a shoe box hidden beside the spare wheel, containing €100,000 in €50 notes.