MADRID -- Andres Piedrahita, considered Bernard Madoff's "man" in Spain, said in an interview published Sunday that he was just another victim of the U.S. Ponzi scheme operator.

The Colombian-born Piedrahita, a partner in father-in-law Walter Noel's Fairfield Greenwich Group, told Spain's El Mundo newspaper that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and was a victim, just like "Emilio Botin, like Banco de Santander," referring to the Spanish banking giant, which lost nearly $3 billion through one of its Geneva-based hedge funds.

Madoff's Ponzi scheme has affected investors around the world, including individuals, most of them members of the U.S. Jewish community, banks, universities and foundations.

A Santander fund called Optimal Strategic US Equity invested with Madoff, who stands accused of bilking investors out of $50 billion.

Santander's main Spanish rival, BBVA, said last week that its clients had $41 million in investment funds linked to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.

The bank itself, however, had a $410 million exposure to Madoff arising from BBVA's creation of structured products for institutional investors.

Savings institution Caja Madrid said it had an "indirect" position of $3 million in products linked to Madoff.

Two other Spanish banks, Banesto and Banca March, reported smaller exposures to Madoff.

Last week, Spanish Economy Minister Pedro Solbes said the total exposure to Madoff Investment Securities products by the Spanish insurance industry and pension funds amounted to roughly $51.5 million.

Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 on charges of running a Ponzi scheme, whereby early investors are rewarded with high returns financed by money pouring in from subsequent investors. Such schemes are destined to collapse because no real economic activity or underlying earnings exist to justify the exorbitant initial payout.

Fairfield Greenwich Group, which funneled money from individual investors and organizations to Madoff, lost some $7.5 billion in the scam.

Total losses for individual investors in Spain are estimated at some $90 million.

"This is a family disaster, it's affecting all of us who are part of Fairfield very much," Piedrahita, a founding partner of the investment firm and the husband of Corina Noel, said.

"I don't understand why some media (outlets) are hammering us so much, I don't know why they attack us this way, because we're victims too," Piedrahita, who marketed Fairfield Greenwich Group's products to banks and individual investors, said.

Piedrahita, who was based in Madrid and London, was responsible for Fairfield Greenwich Group's operations in Spain and Latin America.

The Colombian financier told El Mundo he could not provide further information about the case because there was an ongoing investigation and his New York lawyers had advised him to not comment.