Asset Search & Fraud Investigation
Have the methods mentioned at "Asset Search Indicia For Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy ", been used to hide assets during a financial fraud? Finding out can be critically important if you are: a divorcing spouse, a bankruptcy creditor, etc. The above question can also be especially relevant if a beneficial owner has "laundered" funds through a bank account or otherwise hidden assets via the following:
- multiple jurisdictions;
- high-risk geographical locations;
- nominee bank accounts;
- sham trusts;
- shell companies.
As U.S.A. Today suggested in its February 23, 2007 article, "Corporate owners hide assets, identities", domestic shell companies are particularly formed in states like Nevada, Wyoming, and Delaware in order to hide assets. With the help of "lawyers, brokers, bankers, offshore service providers, and others", U.S. persons are similarly forming offshore shell corporations and trusts according to the August 1, 2006 report on offshore tax haven abuses by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
With offshore asset protection services readily available, there is ample opportunity for an individual in the U.S. to hide assets in anticipation of a divorce, bankruptcy, or other legal matter; or for a determined criminal to hide the proceeds of a crime. For example, the website of Cayman Banking Services explains: "Offshore asset protection is becoming increasingly popular with clients seeking to safeguard their savings from litigation, punitive taxation or possible future divorce settlements by distancing themselves from their assets in the eyes of the law."
The website of Finor-Group.Com similarly offers asset protection and suggests that for a service fee as low as $850 one can open a bank account in Antigua by using a Belize or Costa Rican shell company as the account holder. Schemes to hide assets however, do not always involve activities like opening a foreign bank account or using a shell company. Some beneficial owners for example, conceal assets by conveying them to a friend or family member. Finally, it is also true that a relatively unsophisticated scheme to hide assets can sometimes be detected via the computer-based asset searches mentioned at "A Low-Cost Asset Search".
Copyright 2007-2008 Fred L. Abrams
