What exactly is “Asset Tracing”?
Asset Tracing is the legal investigation of the method(s) by
which assets have been converted and/or transported for the
purpose of distancing or disassociating those assets from their
true owner.
Why is it done?
Assets are traced for two reasons:
- To identify them as the proceeds of crime
- To assist in ultimately returning them to their
rightful owner
How is it
done?
When the proceeds of criminal activity are
moved to another jurisdiction, they will typically pass
though a number of intermediaries such as, financial
institutions, lawyers or corporate entities before reaching
their final destination. In order to connect those proceeds
back to the criminals to whom they really belong, or to the
victims that were initially deprived of the funds, it is
necessary to “collapse” those entities. Collapsing refers to
finding evidence that proves that the entities were made use
of, or contrived, for the sole purpose of making the asset
more difficult to trace.
What about privacy considerations?
Personal privacy is legislated in most
jurisdictions. The information required to effectively trace
assets, both internationally and domestically, can rarely be
obtained without the direction of a court. For this reason,
at chrismathers inc., we typically conduct Asset Tracing
operations in association with lawyers, law enforcement or
government agencies.
What is our experience?
chrismathers inc. investigators have extensive
international experience in the tracing of assets. Our
worldwide network of contacts, coupled with our foreign
investigative experience, allows us to act quickly and
decisively for our clients.
chrismathers inc. was
engaged in 2004 by the Independent Inquiry Committee Into
the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme to assist in the
tracing of assets that were allegedly misappropriated by UN
employees, independent contractors and others.
We do not conduct asset tracing and recovery
investigations for persons involved in family law (divorce)
matters
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