Yves Klein

Admitted to the Geneva bar in 1995, Yves Klein holds a Law degree from the University of Geneva (1989) and a Diploma of higher studies in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies of Geneva (1993). He joined the firm in 1999. 

After acquiring professional experience with international organizations and a law firm in Washington, DC (1994-1995), Yves Klein practiced international business law and litigation with a Geneva law firm (1995-1998).

Upon joining the firm in 1999 and wirking with Enrico Monfrini, Yves Klein progressively focused his practice on transnational civil and criminal asset recovery proceedings on behalf of victims of economic crime. He notably represented, alone or with his partners, more than ten foreign States and recovered in excess of US$2 billion of corruption proceeds.

Yves Klein is active in the representation of bankruptcy estates of foreign banks or publicly traded companies, notably in the context of Ponzi schemes. He has helped to recover tens of millions of US dollars for their depositors, investors and creditors. 

He has obtained recognition of numerous foreign judgments and arbitral awards for amounts in excess of US$100 million and has successfully recovered the assets of the defendants concealed in Switzerland or abroad. 

Hailing from Luxembourg, Yves Klein has over the years gained a deep professional and cultural understanding of Latin America, in particular Brazil. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish fluently.

Yves Klein’s main activity is litigating and coordinating transnational asset recovery proceedings on behalf of victims of economic crimes or parties seeking to enforce their claims against assets concealed in Switzerland or abroad. He develops strategies for the international search and recovery of assets, coordinates cross-border proceedings and represents his clients, including individuals, companies, foreign governments, and liquidators of foreign insolvencies, before civil, criminal and bankruptcy courts, in order to recover crime proceeds and obtain damages, notably from facilitators (banks, financial companies, fiduciaries, etc.).

Yves Klein represents in Switzerland ICC FraudNet, the leading global network of fraud and asset recovery lawyers, operating under the auspicies of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

From 2016 to 2018, Yves Klein was Chair of the Asset Recovery Subcommittee of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the International Bar Association, which became a the Asset Recovery Committee in 2023.  He is also member of the IBA's Arbitration Committee, Litigation Committee and Insolvency Section.

Yves Klein is a member of the Geneva Bar Association, the Swiss Bar Association, the ASA - Swiss Arbitration Association and INSOL Europe.

27 June 2024
Asset Recovery Americas, InformaConnect Asset Recovery Series, Washington DC: Information wars: obtaining information in cross border cases and arbitrations

16 May 2024
FIRE International: Vilamoura 2024, ThoughtLeaders4:  From Freeze to Seize to Confiscation: How to Break the Deadlock on Asset Recovery; Effective Use of Enforcement Agencies and Criminal Tools to Aid Recovery

16 April 2024
OffshoreAlert Conference on Intelligence, Investigations & Recovery, Miami: High-Value International Recovery: Ask Me Anything

15 March 2023
Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery Conference, C5, Geneva: Critical Issues That Practitioners are Facing: A Recap of the Most Pressing Challenges in Fraud and Asset Recovery

7 December 2023
IBA Asset Recovery Conference, International Bar Association, Vienna: Ingredients of a multifaceted asset recovery strategy

18 May 2023
FIRE International: Vilamoura 2023, ThoughtLeaders4: Ponzi Scheme Presumptions and Complex Structures: US, UK and Tracing Strategies

16 March 2023
Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery Conference, C5, Geneva: Bank and Financial Institution Liability for Failing to Spot or Prevent Fraud: When Can a Financial Institution Be Found Liable in Negligence for Failing to Prevent Fraud from a Customer or Shareholder

2 December 2022
Informa Connect, Asset Recovery Americas, New York: Attachment orders, freezing orders, and other means of securing assets

16 November 2022
Mondaq, Webinar: A Comparative Approach to Professional Secrecy And Attorney-Client Privilege In Criminal Proceedings (recording available at the link)

28 October 2022
Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery C5 Miami: Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring as Mechanisms for Exposing Fraud and Recovering Assets

25 March 2022
Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery Conference, C5,  Geneva: Spotlight on Contentious Cross-Border Insolvency and Restructuring 

8 December 2021
vGlobal conference on intelligence and investigations for stakeholders in high-value cross-border finance, OffshoreAlert, Webinar: High-Value International Recovery 

23 November 2021
Mondaq, Webinar: Actions by Insolvency Liquidators Against Banks, a Comparison Between the USA, England, Canada and Switzerland (recording available at the link)

22 October 2021
FIRE Starters ‘In London’, Thought Leaders 4 FIRE, London: Recovery and Enforcement - innovative ways to identify, recover and enforce against assets

23-24 September 2021
FIRE UK ‘Welcome Back’ Summit 2021, Thought Leaders 4 FIRE, London: Cross-border Civil & Insolvency Proceedings after Brexit: getting by with a little help from Criminal Proceedings

28-29 June 2021
Forum on International Enforcement of Judgements & Awards (FIEJA), Webinar

21 June 2021
Thought Leaders 4 FIRE, Webinar: FIRE & ICE: Freezing the Un-Freezable

08-09 September 2021
UNCITRAL, Webinar: UNCITRAL Expert group meeting on civil asset tracing and recovery in the context of insolvency proceedings

27 May 2021
Asset Recovery America, Informa Connect, Webinar: Criminal investigations – do they help or hinder recovery?

25 March 2021
Baker & Partners Masterclass Series, Webinar: Consultancy or Corruption? You Decide

23 March 2021
Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery Conference-Geneva, C5, Webinar: The Expected and Unexpected Evolution of Fraud and Ponzi Schemes, Litigation Challenges and Financial Picture for Law, Forensic and Asset Recovery Firms

07-08 December 2020
Forum on International Enforcement of Judgements & Awards (FIEJA), Cambridge Forums, Webinar.

04 December 2020
FIRE Year in Review: A Year Like no Other, Thought Leaders 4 FIRE, Webinar.

14 October 2020
Asset Recovery in Switzerland,  Mondaq, Webinar: A practical approach to cross-border insolvency.

12-13 October 2020
Asset Recovery Asia, Informa Connect, Webinar: Payback (or not, as the case may be).

06 December 2019
UNCITRAL Colloquium on Civil Asset Tracing and Recovery, Vienna: Real-life examples of the use of asset tracing and recovery tools in common law and civil law jurisdictions

18-20 September 2019
Asset Recovery America - KNect365 Law, New York: Offshore insolvency, onshore assets 

25-26 June 2019
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: Asset recovery: the perennial problem of standing and explaining unexplained wealth orders (UWOs)

03 June 2019
Asset Recovery Latin America - KNect365 Law, São Paulo: Follow the Money

03 May 2019
ICC-FraudNet Meeting, Cartagena: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges with Litigation Funding

30 April 2019
OffshoreAlert Conference, Miami: How To Get Your Claim Financed by Litigation Funders

01 March 2019
KNect 365, Asset Recovery: Fraud Litigation, Enforcement and Contentious Insolvency Conference, Dublin: Asset Protection Trusts: How to Break Them

26 October 2018
Brazilian Institute for Asset Recovery/Instituto Brasileiro de Rastreamento de Ativos (IBRA), 1st International Seminar on Asset Recovery as a Tool in Combating Fraud and Corruption/I Seminário Internacional sobre Rastreamento de Ativos come Ferramenta no Combate a Fraude e Corrupção, São Paulo: Conflict between criminal and insolvency proceedings/Conflito entre o procedimento criminal e falimentar

08 October 2018
IBA Annual Conference, Rome: Mock Trial – The Briber’s Dilemma in Parallel Criminal, Arbitral and Civil Asset Recovery Proceedings (moderator)

27 June 2018
International Conference on Anti-Corruption, C5, London: Corruption and arbitration: risk and evidentiary issues

12-13 June 2018
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: How to recover assets but avoid confronting the corrupt politician directly

03-05 June 2018
Forum on the International Enforcement of Judgements and Awards, Cambridge Forums 

12 April 2018
Paris Arbitration Week, 10th anniversary of ICC/La Française breakfast-debates, Paris: Arbitration, Corruption and Asset Recovery

21 March 2018
C5 Anti-Corruption Conference Switzerland, Zurich: Arbitration and Corruption: Trends and Developments

11-12 January 2018
Dealing with Allegations of Economic Crime in Arbitration, Basel: How to prove criminal conduct? Evidence issues

01 December 2017
Bijzonder Strafrecht, Anti-Corruption Conference,  Amsterdam: Asset recovery in international corruption cases

6 November 2017
IBA Latin American Anti-Corruption Enforcement and Compliance, São Paulo: Civil and insolvency asset recovery tools: an addition to criminal proceedings.

10 October 2017
IBA Annual Conference, Sydney: Offshore structures as a barrier to recovery of assets from criminals.

29 June 2017
C5 Anti-Corruption, London: Opportunities and Obstacles in Offshore Investigations

13-14 June 2017
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: Asset recovery: role and standing of victims of corruption in criminal proceedings, notably in the context of structured  criminal settlements.

3 May 2017
Florida International University College of Law 2nd Annual Conference on the Fight against Corruption and Impunity, Miami: Pluses and Minuses of Government-to-Government or Criminal-Based Asset Recovery and Case Studies of Successful Civil Asset Recoveries.

01-02 May 2017
OffshoreAlert Conference, Miami: Strategies to Obtain Information in Offshore Jurisdictions

14-15 November 2016
OffshoreAlert Conference, London: Strategies to Obtain Information in Offshore Jurisdictions

18-23 September 2016
IBA Annual Conference, Anti-Corruption Committee, Washington, DC

27 June 2016
ICC FraudNet - 1° Simpósio sobre Falência Transnacional e Recuperação de Ativos, Rio de Janeiro: Homologação de Falências Estrangeiras na Suíça e Participação em Processos Penais

24 June 2016
Florida International University College of Law, The Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in 2016 and Beyond, Miami: Effective Recovery of the Proceeds of Corruption – A Legal Perspective and Case Studies

14-15 June 2016
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: Asset Recovery Case Study

01-03 May 2016
OffshoreAlert Conference, Miami: ‘You Can’t Run a Ponzi Scheme without a Bank’ – The Victims Strike Back

12-13 November 2015
Academy & Finance - Le nouveau tournant de la place financière suisse, Geneva: L’entraide judiciaire internationale : quels sont les pouvoirs des juges en pratique ?

02 October 2015
ICC FraudNet Conference on Fraud, Corruption and Asset Recovery, Vienna: Case Study – Potential Liability of Banks

10-11 June 2015
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: Developments in civil asset recovery

17 October 2014
ICC FraudNet Conference on Fraud, Asset Recovery & Cross-Border Cooperation, Bangkok: Recovery In Complex International Cases, A Case Study

03-04 June 2014
Annual IBA Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris: Success stories – real life examples of successful corruption asset recovery

06-08 November 2013
Annual São Paulo Conference on Fraud, Asset Recovery & Cross-Border Insolvency Cooperation, São Paulo: Asset Recovery in Corruption Cases – Case Studies

28 September 2012
ICC FraudNet Conference, Fall 2012, Dublin: Circumventing Bank Secrecy in Fraud Cases

13 May 2011
7 Bedford Row Trust Busting Seminar, London: Trust Busting in Switzerland

11 March 2011
ICC FraudNet Conference, Spring 2011, Hong Kong: Dealing with Corruption - New Approaches in Tracking and Attacking Stolen Assets

30 November – 02 December 2011
1st Conference on International Fraud & Asset Recovery and Trans‐Border Insolvency Cooperation (College of Public Attorneys of Sao Paulo) / 1º Seminário sobre: fraude internacional e recuperação de ativos e cooperação transnacional de insolvência (Escola Superior do Ministério Público de São Paulo), São Paulo: Cases, problems & solutions: The TRT Case – The forfeiture of the assets of Nicolau Dos Santos Neto in Switzerland / Casos - Problemas e Soluções: Caso TRT: o confisco dos bens de Nicolau dos Santos Neto na Suíça

01 October 2010
ICC FraudNet Conference, Fall 2010, Calgary: Developments in the new Swiss Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure Affecting Fraud Recovery

15 October 2008
IBA Annual Conference, Anti-Corruption Committee, Buenos Aires: Recovery of looted assets - Switzerland