Asset recovery and criminal compliance programs in Spain - Interview with Héctor Sbert

Victims as Prosecutors – Spain's Blueprint for Recovering Crypto Fraud Assets

According to the FBI, crypto fraud is now the largest category of fraud by dollar losses. The victims it leaves behind rarely only strive for a criminal conviction — they want their money back. That gives them a strong interest in actively taking part in the proceedings. Yet in many jurisdictions that interest goes unmet: countries like Germany grant victims certain rights but no active role in the investigation. Spain takes a markedly different approach.

That's why Mirjam Steinfeld invited Héctor Sbert from ECIJA in Barcelona onto the Criminal Compliance Podcast — to unpack this and other differences between the Spanish and German legal systems. Starting with the basics of Spain's mixed inquisitorial-adversarial criminal procedure and the roles of the Ministerio Fiscal and the Juez de Instrucción, Héctor Sbert explains why victims acting as acusadores particulares can drive proceedings forward in a way that Germany's Nebenklage rarely achieves.

The conversation also turns to ORGA, Spain's Asset Recovery and Management Office, to corporate criminal liability under Article 31 bis of the Código Penal, and to the compliance structures that can shield companies caught between victim and defendant roles. A rare comparative look at what a genuinely victim-driven system of asset recovery can achieve — and where it reaches its limits.

Listen here to the episode “Crypto Investigations”

https://criminal-compliance.podigee.io/142-neue-episode

Mirjam Steinfeld in conversation with:

Héctor Sbert is a Partner at ECIJA, a leading Ibero-American law firm, based in the Barcelona office. He holds a Ph.D. in Law from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and an Executive MBA from IESE Business School.

As a commercial litigator, Héctor advises national and international clients on enforcement proceedings, distressed debt settlement, contentious insolvency and cross-border dispute resolution. A particular focus of his practice lies in asset tracing and recovery, commercial fraud and cybersecurity, including litigation involving cryptocurrencies and fraud linked to non-conventional assets such as wine, art and collectibles. Alongside his legal practice, Héctor is active in numerous professional bodies, e.g. ICC FraudNet and the International Bar Associ-ation (IBA).

Héctor Sbert can be reached at: hsbert@ecija.com or + 34 933 808 255.

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