Landmark new certification from the International Association for Asset Recovery* is the first to demarcate the unique skills to recover fraudsters’ assets
MIAMI – The International Association for Asset Recovery* (IAAR) announced that an inaugural group of forensic, investigative and legal professionals have earned the Certified Specialists in Asset Recovery* (CSARs) credential for having passed a rigorous examination and met other qualifications. The innovative credential attests to their skill and expertise in tracing and recovering fraud and other criminal assets.
IAAR informed more than two dozen successful candidates of their new credential for passing the test they took on Nov. 6 in Las Vegas following the Annual IAAR Conference there. Nearly 1/3 of the new CSAR-credential professionals work at the federal or state investigative or prosecutorial agencies.
Amount recovered from fraudsters now is ‘pathetically small’
“A CSAR-credential professional is a breakthrough and a beacon for victims of fraud and financial crime worldwide,” said Patricia Valdes, IAAR Executive Director. “For the first time, there is a method to determine whether a person has the skills to see through the artifices that fraudsters construct to hide the proceeds of their crimes from the victims worldwide. Through top professional certification and training, we hope to improve the amount that is recovered from fraudsters, which is now pathetically small."
Of an estimated $500 billion stolen by criminals each year in the US alone, only about $3 billion is recovered, according to Valdes. “Persons certified as CSARs and those that follow will begin to tip the scales in favor of victims. That is why we are proud to introduce this important credential,” she said.
CSAR created by the founders of the CAMS credential
“This certification will set a standard of excellence in winning the "endgame" of all fraud cases, the recovery of the criminal assets. For the first time, it demarcates the special skills in effective asset recovery* as worthy of certification,” said Charles Intriago, IAAR president and founder. A former federal prosecutor, Intriago pioneered in 2002 the world renowned Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS) certification, which nearly 9,000 persons around the world have earned, including many US federal special agents and regulators.
“Asset recovery is a neglected art in financial crime investigation. We spend a lot of resources detecting the fraud and the perpetrator, and a lot of resources detecting the laundering, movement and hiding of the proceeds, but not nearly enough resources on recovering the money from the fraudster. If you don’t take back the assets, you’ve lost the endgame,” Intriago said.
Eight month effort , 30 experts and psychometric firm built the CSAR exam
To construct the CSAR certification exam, IAAR recruited more than 30 experts from various fields, including several former federal agents and prosecutors, to draft the exam’s questions. IAAR hired Kryterion, a leading international psychometric and instructional design firm, to guide the exam-construction process, which lasted more than eight months.
The rigorous, three-hour exam covers such areas as asset freezing, investigative techniques, international asset tracing, legal weapons and financial flow analysis.
The CSAR exam can be taken at more than 550 IAAR-Kryterion locations worldwide, including hundreds in the United States and Canada. The CSAR Candidate Handbook and full information about the certification may be found at www.IAARonline.org.
(Media inquiries concerning IAAR and the CSAR may be directed to Patricia Valdes, IAAR assistant executive director, at (786) 517-2715, or e-mail at pvaldes@iaaronline.org. Visit www.iaaronline.org for more information about IAAR and the CSAR ).
