Ponzi

'One-off' asset recovery across borders – Forcing third parties, facilitators and fronts to pay when the fraudster has fled

The collapse of a financial crime or fraud scheme is merely the beginning of a long road the victims must travel to recover their stolen funds. In most cases, the fraudster or other financial criminal has fled and the stolen assets are well-hidden or have been dissipated. A growing body of tools and legal precepts has arisen in recent years to help victims recover assets from third parties. This is a process that IAAR calls “one-off” recovery.

Swiss block Syrian assets worth $32 million

By: 
IAAR Staff
Date: 
07/05/2011
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Last week's roundup

Switzerland has blocked Syrian assets worth 27 million Swiss francs ($32 million), Swiss news agency SDA reported on Sunday, citing a Swiss newspaper report that the Swiss Secretariat for Economics (SECO) confirmed. The news agency said SECO declined to comment on whether the assets of President Bashar al-Assad had been frozen. Reuters, Sunday, July 3, 2011

NOAA forfeiture funds scandal goes political as US Senators battle over bills

By: 
IAAR Staff
Date: 
07/01/2011
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Last week's roundup

A pair of US politicians are battling over the recent NOAA forfeiture funds scandal, and the agency's access to these funds hangs in the balance. Senator Scott Brown's "Asset Forfeiture* Responsibility Act of 2011" seeks to remove regulation and forfeiture authority from the embattled agency, while Senator John Kerry's  "Fisheries Fee Fairness Act of 2011" proposes to deal with the specific harms done by federal fisheries law enforcement.

Mets owners sought 'fraud insurance' for Madoff dealings in 2001

By: 
IAAR Staff
Date: 
05/16/2011
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Last week's roundup

In 2001, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the owners of the New York Mets, decided to explore a fairly novel way of protecting the hundreds of millions of dollars they, their families and their businesses had invested with Bernard L. Madoff: they considered buying something called fraud insurance.The idea did not come out of nowhere.

US seeks to aid Libyan rebels with seized assets

By: 
IAAR Staff
Date: 
05/05/2011
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Relevant

Last week's roundup

The United States announced Thursday that it would try to release some of the more than $30 billion in assets seized from Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, to help Libyans in rebel-controlled areas, as dozens of officials met here to bolster a NATO-led military intervention that to critics appears stalled. New York Times, Thursday, May 5, 2011

SDNY asset forfeiture chief talks synergy, fraud and best practices

By: 
David Quinones
Date: 
04/25/2011

Sharon Cohen Levin has been chief of the Asset Forfeiture* Unit in the Southern District of New York for 15 years, but now, more than ever, her office's unit is under pressure to show results. She has seen forfeiture go from "something that was used occasionally" to a regular part of fraud prosecution.

Her office has responded with record recoveries. Asset Recovery* Watch Editor David Quinones caught up with Cohen Levin to discuss the successes and challenges to disarming criminal enterprises and fraudsters.

Madoff, Stanford efforts illustrate the best and worst asset recovery scenarios

By: 
David Quinones
Date: 
04/05/2011

 

International Asset Tracing in Insolvency: A primer on constructive trusts

By: 
Felicity Toube
Date: 
03/31/2011
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Toube

Cross-Border Asset Tracing and Recovery Conference

The constructive trust* can be a potent ally to an international asset tracing and recovery professional, but it can also be quite difficult to maneuver. In this extract from International Asset Tracing in Insolvency*, edited by IAAR Advisory Board member Felicity Toube and published by Oxford University Press, constructive trusts are defined and explained.

The constructive trust* is a notoriously difficult subject. As Millett LJ put it:

Internationally recognized groundbreaking asset recovery attorney to speak at IAAR Cross Border Conference

By: 
David Quinones
Date: 
03/31/2011
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Cremades

The International Association for Asset Recovery* announced on Thursday that leading Spanish lawyer Javier Cremades has been confirmed to speak at IAAR's Cross-Border Asset Tracing and Recovery Conference, to be held June 12-14 at the Waldorf Hilton in London.

Being proactive can help stem the tide of corruption and theft

By: 
Kenneth Barden, JD, CSAR
Date: 
03/29/2011
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More from this author

Deciding where to pursue your case

Switzerland braces for new role

Understanding Islamic financial terminology

In asset recovery*, being proactive can mean many things. From analyzing the strength of internal systems to prevent further fraud to instituting models of quality control like a corrective action/preventive action (CAPA) program, your clients need your help to make sure their flaws are fixed – before another fraud.

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Beyond the Duvalier Legacy: What New ‘Arab Spring’ Governments Can Learn from Haiti and the Benefits of Stolen Asset Recovery
Mark V. Vlasic and Gregory Cooper - Sunday, February 19, 2012
In this well-documented and incisive piece, Vlasic and Cooper make a strong case for the vital importance of improving international stolen asset...
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Asset recovery luminaries gather for groundbreaking panels on third party targets
David Quinones - Wednesday, November 23, 2011
For years, IAAR experts have preached the value of third party or “one-off” asset recovery* targets, but the lessons have never been as clearly and...
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Department of Justice on brink of releasing FCPA guidance
David Quinones - Thursday, November 10, 2011
While it was just a brief comment during a lengthy speech, United States Assistant Attorney* General Lanny Breuer’s mention of impending guidance on...
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The ARW Podcast

Digital sleuth shares top strategies for the computer age
Steve Rambam | 02/22/2012
President and CEO, Pallorium Inc.

This was recorded on September 26, 2011.  Expert digital investigator Steve Rambam of...
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Cross-border expert draws path to success in multiple jurisdictions
Arnoldo Lacayo | 08/16/2011
Astigarraga Davis

IAAR editor David Quinones talked with Astigarraga Davis' Arnoldo Lacayo about the Miami...
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Premier divorce lawyer: Asset recovery a key, under-used aspect of matrimonial law
Randall M. Kessler | 08/03/2011
Founding Partner, Kessler & Solomiany

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