Bank secrecy laws enable bank customers to entrust their confidential financial information to banks across the globe, as the OECD explains at page 19, ¶ 29 of “Improving Access To Bank Information For Tax Purposes“. By obligating banks to protect a bank customer’s confidential information, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act at 15 U.S.C. § 6801 (b) provides bank… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: May 2010
Asset Search News Roundup: May 26, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Drug-Related Assets, Securities FraudAn alleged Guatemalan drug lord and Peter Madoff are the subjects of the May 26th "Asset Search News Roundup": "Suing Peter Madoff For Bernard Madoff’s Securities Fraud" described plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion pending against Peter Madoff in The Lautenberg Foundation v. Madoff, 09-Civ-00816. Pages 8-10 of a May 20th reply memorandum shows that the Madoff plaintiffs… Continue Reading
Assetprotection.com Says Become A Smaller Target
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering"How To Minimize Your Assets" published at a webpage belonging to Assetprotection.com, indicates that a judgment debtor can mitigate the risk of forced collection proceedings "[b]y becoming a smaller target". The Assetprotection.com website is also replete with asset protection diagrams. In cases that illicit proceeds are being hidden, some of these same diagrams could actually… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: May 19, 2010
Posted in Asset Forfeiture, Asset Search NewsToday’s "Asset Search News Roundup" discusses my next speaking engagement and asset forfeiture: At the New York County Lawyers’ Association, 14 Vesey Street, New York City, on May 25, 2010, I will present "Ethically Accessing Financial Intelligence From Warsaw To Wilmington, In Criminal & Civil Cases". It examines the financial fraud investigations of Ponzi schemer… Continue Reading
Concentrating On Assets Concealed By Cross-Border Elements
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Tax FraudThe IRS is concentrating on tax fraud schemes in which assets are concealed by cross-border elements. A recent Reuters’ article and a Department of Justice press release discussed such tax frauds, which the IRS refers to as abusive offshore tax avoidance schemes. To try to detect these schemes, the IRS has used methods ranging from… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: May 12, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Tax FraudThe May 12th "Asset Search News Roundup" talks about both whistleblower awards and hiding assets in informal banking systems: Ten days ago I had the pleasure of meeting a noted colleague, attorney Jack Blum. Among Mr. Blum’s high-profile clients are whistleblowers Rudolf Elmer and Heinrich Kieber, who are respectively described at "Julius Baer whistleblower cites… Continue Reading
“If A Judge Can See Your Assets, He Can Seize Them”
Posted in Financial Institutions, Forming Shell Companies To Conceal Assets, Money LaunderingThe Web site of Capital Asset, Inc. at www.bulletproofasset.com, claims that forming companies in Nevada, or Wyoming, or Delaware is preferable because: "Do you know that partnerships, corporations, LLCs in most states make you completely visible? If a judge can see your assets, he can seize them." Capital Asset, Inc. recommends forming companies in Nevada,… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: May 5, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Money LaunderingConcealing assets through yachts / aircraft and the 2010 Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual are on the radar in this "Asset Search News Roundup": Beneficial owners sometimes fraudulently conceal their assets by secretly purchasing a valuable yacht or aircraft. They may then establish a Delaware or other shell company and use a… Continue Reading
Revisiting A Lawsuit Against Wachovia Bank
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Securities FraudMy article "Wachovia Bank & Its Bank Secrecy Act Issues" said that Ponzi scheme victims do not possess a cognizable claim against financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. Concurring and quoting me was Moneylaundering.com’s "Florida Court Unlikely to Find Wachovia, Mastercard Civilly Liable for Missing Ponzi Scheme": (Click On The Image Above To… Continue Reading