Daniel Sancho’s money: from Edwin Arrieta’s transfers to compensation for the crime

Daniel Sancho is currently sleeping in Surat Thani, the Thai prison where he will serve his life sentence for the murder and dismemberment of Edwin Arrieta, a crime that occurred last summer. Surat Thani is one of the most dangerous prisons in Thailand, housing more than 5,400 inmates - twice its intended capacity - and Sancho is already facing issues. Most of these inmates are serving sentences of over 25 years for violent crimes.

The young Spaniard will not only spend the rest of his life behind bars, but he will also have to compensate the victim’s family with approximately €106,000 ($117,000). Juan Gonzalo Ospina, the Arrieta family lawyer, will soon begin proceedings to secure a preventive seizure of any money Sancho receives in prison, as he believes Sancho does not have sufficient funds to comply with the court’s orders.

But is Rodolfo Sancho’s son truly insolvent? We examined the financial details surrounding the accused, from the transfers he allegedly received from the victim to his supposed business ventures in Madrid, and the money that his father, an actor, may have spent on his legal defense.

A few months after the ‘Sancho case’ became public, reports surfaced of alleged payments from the victim to Sancho, the grandson of Sancho Gracia. These reportedly included at least seven transfers from Santiago de Chile, made between December 2022 and March of the following year, totalling €5,100 ($5,600). In addition to these transfers, it was reported that Sancho possessed a credit card linked directly to the account of the Colombian doctor, as revealed by the program ‘Fiesta.’

“There is a credit card with a limit of €25,000 ($28,000) per month in Daniel Sancho’s name,” the Spanish channel Telecinco reported. “The last time it was used was during that week in Thailand. This card was linked to a bank account belonging to Edwin Arrieta.”

Additionally, Daniel Sancho claimed to be the manager of a popular restaurant in Madrid, though the establishment’s owner later clarified that this was false and that Sancho was merely handling public relations and social media. Nevertheless, the accused had plans to open his own venue and needed financial assistance from Arrieta to do so.

The program ‘Equipo de investigación,’ which aired on laSexta, revealed that Arrieta had reportedly loaned up to €150,000 ($166,000) to Sancho to open a restaurant in Madrid—a project that never came to fruition.