The pretrial discovery phase of a divorce, bankruptcy or other legal matter is often the best chance one has to collect evidence of any assets hidden offshore. The attached letter rogatory* submitted to the Swiss court, was included in one divorcing wife’s pretrial effort to gather such evidence. At the time of pretrial discovery in… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Swiss Banks
Subscribe to Swiss Banks RSS FeedAsset Search News Roundup: October 25, 2011
Posted in Asset Search News, Money Laundering, Swiss BanksInterdicting assets parked in Switzerland and forgeries– “Mubarak sons own assets worth $340 mln in Switzerland: official” examines the seizure of Mubarak family assets at Swiss banks. Legal remedies for seizing assets in Switzerland range from criminal law tools to civil attachment. Articles featuring these remedies are: Recovering Assets In Switzerland Hidden By Dictators and… Continue Reading
Searching For Bank Accounts Secretly Opened In Switzerland
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudAn IRS webpage identifies U.S. residents accused of engaging UBS AG to maintain secretly opened Swiss or other foreign bank accounts: (Click On The Image To View The Webpage)* One person cited by this webpage is Ms. Lucille Abrahamsen Jackson, of Hillside New Jersey. She reportedly concealed assets in a Swiss bank account by using… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: May 23, 2011
Posted in Asset Search News, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksPiercing trusts and competing over $1.2 million dollars in the Trevor Cook asset recovery case– “Concealing Assets In More Than 150 Trusts?” describes some matters in which assets were fraudulently hidden. When available, the right to pierce a trust could lead to a recovery in these situations. In New York for example, Courts can pierce… Continue Reading
Turning To Financial Investigators During Asset Recoveries
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud, Using Financial Investigators"An Asset Search In Geneva" outlines the typical legal remedies for recovering assets secreted at banks in Switzerland. The legal remedies range from civil proceedings brought to attach bank accounts to employing criminal law tools. These remedies are not just limited to Switzerland as they are often available in many countries around the world. Besides… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: April 8, 2011
Posted in Asset Search News, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks, White-Collar Crime GenerallyThis "Asset Search News Roundup" discusses a letter rogatory from Italian prosecutors and the recent U.S. fines issued in the case involving India’s Satyam Computer Services. A letter rogatory filed April 1st in federal court by the U.S. Attorney, reveals that Italian prosecutors are investigating the Delaware office of a company called "BACKER & MCKENZIE". … Continue Reading
Seeking Swiss Bank Records At The Time Of A Divorce
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Swiss BanksAsset protection can be as basic as forming shell companies in order to secretly maintain monies in Swiss bank accounts. One divorcing husband who carried out this sort of scheme is described at "An Asset Search In Switzerland". This divorcing husband had used a nominee, (i.e. an intermediary), to establish shell companies and then instructed… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: December 15, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudToday’s roundup concerns the use of intermediaries, (i.e. nominees), to conceal beneficial ownership in both the registration of airplanes and use of financial accounts. Bloomberg.com & Reuters write that the FAA is requiring the re-registration of U.S. aircraft to help identify an estimated 119,000 unaccounted for aircraft owners. While this measure will hopefully bolster homeland… Continue Reading
Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksAsset Search Blog articles quoting “Roger” the former foreign intelligence officer are “Following The Money Trail In Zurich” and “Offshore Bank Accounts In Liechtenstein“. The end of this article also features “Roger”,although its facts have been sanitized / changed for privacy reasons. As a consequence of his U.S.-based Ponzi scheme, Bill the investment adviser was indicted… Continue Reading
Piercing The Bank Secrecy Veil During A Marital Asset Search
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Privacy Laws, Swiss Banks"Illegally Accessing Customer Information At U.S. Banks" characterized the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as a U.S. bank secrecy law. On the one hand, it and other bank secrecy laws around the world protect the privacy of bank customers entrusting financial information to banks. On the other hand, bank customers can easily abuse these laws during a fraudulent… Continue Reading
Recovering Assets By Shifting Burdens Of Proof
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Public Corruption, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksKleptocrats hiding assets in Swiss banks and investors subject to clawback claims in the U.S., may have something in common. Each could conceivably bear the evidentiary burden of proof in asset recovery cases brought against them. The Swiss Restitution Of Illicit Assets Act ("RIAA") for example, shifts the burden of proof onto crooked politically exposed… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: August 31, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Drug-Related Assets, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksSecurities fraudster Trevor Cook, assets that might have been misappropriated from former East Germany, and over $2 million is interdicted at a U.S.-Mexican border crossing: Ex-Minneapolis money manager and securities fraudster Trevor Cook was sentenced a week ago to serve twenty-five years in prison forviolating 18 U.S.C. §1341 (mail fraud) and 26 U.S.C. §7201 (tax… Continue Reading
The Americans & Swiss Target The Kleptocrats
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Public Corruption, Swiss Banks, White-Collar Crime GenerallyAmerican and Swiss officials are ramping up their efforts to recover assets hidden by corrupt foreign politically exposed persons commonly referred to as kleptocrats. A few of my thoughts about this are included at MoneyLaundering.com’s August 6th article "U.S., Swiss Initiatives to Recover Looted Assets Likely to Bring Banks More Subpoenas, Regulatory Scrutiny ": (Click… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: July 28, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudThis "Asset Search News Roundup" features France’s richest woman; a retired Orlando police officer; and actor Wesley Snipes: "Police question French heiress over scandal" reports that France’s richest woman,L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, is suspected of hiding assets from French tax authorities. Among other things, French authorities are believed to be investigating whether the heiress could… Continue Reading
Is There A “John Doe” Summons In HSBC’s Future?
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudMy July 11th "Asset Search News Roundup" mentioned that U.S. prosecutors were investigating HSBC since some U.S. taxpayers were suspected of using foreign HSBC bank accounts to facilitate tax frauds. Swiss prosecutors meanwhile, are separately investigating whether former HSBC employees Hervé Falciani and Georgina Mikhael had illegally accessed bank customer information at HSBC in Geneva. … Continue Reading
Eliciting Financial Evidence Across International Borders
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Identity Theft, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks“Using Foreign Computer Evidence Against An Accused Hacker” explained that U.S. prosecutors accessed a Latvian computer server and other foreign computer evidence, where an identity thief was accused of storing stolen U.S. credit card information across international borders. “Money Laundering, Marital Assets & Divorce” outlined the different fact pattern of a U.S. divorcing spouse who… Continue Reading
Tracking Trevor Cook’s Assets Across U.S.-Swiss Borders
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksA frequently asked questions Web page published by the Financial Action Task Force discusses multilateral initiatives and states: "Large-scale money laundering schemes invariably contain cross-border elements." The Trevor Cook receiver undoubtedly recognizes the foregoing because he is tracking receivership estate assets across international borders, on behalf of investors damaged by Ponzi schemer and securities fraudster… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: June 16, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudThe financial fraud investigation connected to Minneapolis money manager Trevor Cook is thought to have widened; Andrew B. Silva is sentenced in Virginia for tax fraud; and the delay in disclosing the names of some UBS AG bank customers: “FBI now is investigating Trevor Cook’s associates” reports that governmental authorities have broadened their financial fraud… Continue Reading
A Primer For Gathering Financial Intelligence
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Assets & Financial Intelligence, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Securities Fraud, Swiss BanksA successful asset search often requires gathering financial intelligence. One financial investigator sought financial intelligence by doing “trash pulls”. This investigator did trash pulls at an attorney’s home to elicit intelligence about the attorney’s client. During one of these trash pulls, an envelope bearing the name of a climate-controlled art storage facility was discovered. This… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: April 21, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Bankruptcy, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudThis "Asset Search News Roundup" concentrates on an alleged $45 million dollar tax fraud and the conviction of Mr. Dennis Hecker’s girlfriend, Christi Michele Rowan: An April 15th press release explained that property developers Mauricio Cohen Assor and his son, Leon Cohen-Levy are accused of hiding $45 million from the IRS by using nominees to… Continue Reading
An Ex-Watch Manufacturer & His Nominee Bank Accounts
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudBank customers sometimes hide their assets offshore in nominee bank accounts located in high-risk geographical locations like Switzerland. One such bank customer was ex-watch manufacturer Jack Barouh of Golden Beach, Florida. As a February 4, 2010 press release basically explained, Mr. Barouh was accused of hiding undeclared revenue from the IRS during an abusive offshore… Continue Reading
A Doctor, A Lawyer & Bricks Of Cash In Switzerland
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud, White-Collar Crime Generally“Smuggling Cash Across Iraq’s Borders” mentioned Donnie the former DEA agent who had trained Iraqi border personnel to interdict bulk-cash smugglers. To help detect these smugglers, governmental authorities also use declaration forms to track the cross-border movement of cash and monetary instruments. As mentioned by my April 13, 2009 “Asset Search News Roundup“, one such… Continue Reading
Asset Search News Roundup: February 7, 2010
Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Public Corruption, Swiss Banks, White-Collar Crime GenerallyThe Wall Street Journal’s February 4, 2010 article "Switzerland Freezes Freed Duvalier Assets", is about alleged illicit assets blocked in Switzerland. The blocked assets have been maintained in Swiss bank accounts and are believed to originate from Haiti’s public coffers. These public coffers were reportedly looted by former politically exposed person Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier,… Continue Reading
Customer Identification At UBS AG And Some Other Banks
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Bank Customer Identification & Assets, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax FraudBy using customer identification or “know your customer” rules, banks try to prevent money laundering and other financial frauds. This use of customer identification rules by banks is contemplated at the Fifth Recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force. The Fifth Recommendation urges banks to diligently verify a customer’s identity and to record the true… Continue Reading