Self-Incriminating Statements in a Civil Proceeding: Admissible Evidence in a Criminal Investigation?

In the “L., M. R.”, c. 51776/2018/1/CA1 Room 6 of the Argentine Criminal Court of Appeals case, the debtor admitted to making unauthorized payments to a creditor outside the bankruptcy plan. The bankruptcy judge immediately forwarded copies of the statement to the criminal case assignment office, triggering an investigation on charges of improper creditor benefits (Section 176.3 of the Criminal Code).

Eventually, a criminal judge summoned the debtor for questioning, relying exclusively on the records forwarded by the bankruptcy judge. The defense moved for the exclusion of the debtor’s statements, arguing that they had been obtained in violation of the privilege against self-incrimination.

The criminal judge denied the motion on grounds of exclusion, and the defendant sought a reversal on appeal. After hearing the arguments, the Court of Appeals reversed the first instance ruling, excluding the statements made in the bankruptcy proceeding, and ordering the defendant’s acquittal.

In so deciding, the Court of Appeals noted that the debtor had testified before the bankruptcy court under Section 102 of the Reorganization and Bankruptcy Act, which required him to provide all relevant explanations of his assets and financial situation. Moreover, the Court also highlighted that the debtor was never warned of the potential criminal implications that could derive from his statements.

In this context, the Court of Appeals held that the debtor’s admission was in fact coerced, as he had to choose between running afoul of his procedural obligations as a debtor, or admitting to a criminal act. Therefore, the statements were made in violation of the defendant’s privilege against self-incrimination, which -the Court of Appeals clarified- applies to all judicial proceedings, regardless of their nature.