Category Archives: Swiss Banks

Assest Search News Roundup: June 2, 2013

By Fred Abrams on June 2nd, 2013 Posted in Asset Search News, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Liberty Reserve’s red flags, a new Swiss bill and letters rogatory: “Liberty Reserve’s money laundering spotted in 2009” reports the Costa Rican Financial Intelligence Unit had investigated Liberty Reserve because of red flags. This article too mentions that the Financial Intelligence Unit had turned the Liberty Reserve investigation over to Costa Rican prosecutors. “Swiss government… Continue Reading

Asset Search News Roundup: April 20, 2013

By Fred Abrams on April 20th, 2013 Posted in Asset Search News, Money Laundering, Public Corruption, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

This Asset Search News Roundup discusses the Secrecy for Sale Project and the indictment of a NY attorney along with a Swiss banker: I) The US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, (“ICIJ”), analyzed more than 2.5 million documents in its Secrecy for Sale Project. The Project began after the ICIJ received a computer hard drive in… Continue Reading

Swiss Banks, Smuggling & Other Asset Recovery Issues

By Fred Abrams on March 2nd, 2013 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud, White-Collar Crime Generally

“Swiss Banks, Smuggling & Other Asset Recovery Issues” will be presented from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on April 18, 2013 in New York City, at the New York County Lawyers’ Association. Jack Blum, Esq., Advocate Robert Fiecther of the Des Gouttes & Partners law firm located in Geneva, Switzerland and Fred L. Abrams, Esq…. Continue Reading

Seminar to Discuss $104 Million IRS Reward & Blowing the Whistle

By Fred Abrams on September 19th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

As demonstrated by the $104 million dollar IRS award to UBS Swiss bank whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, one may hit a home run by blowing the whistle. Some however, face criminal charges or other extraordinary difficulties because of their whistleblowing. The New York City Bar Association seminar “The Ins & Outs Of Recovering Assets Via Whistleblowers… Continue Reading

Asset Search News Roundup: September 13, 2012

By Fred Abrams on September 13th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Swiss bankers in the news- Former UBS Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld’s record-breaking $104 million dollar IRS whistleblower award is analyzed by Swiss fume at U.S. “hypocrisy” over whistleblower’s payout; and at the National Whistleblower Center’s website. The August 27, 2012 article Julius Baer Says Employee Stole German Offshore Client Data noted that “U.S. and European authorities are analyzing… Continue Reading

Suing UBS AG Over Secret Swiss Bank Accounts

By Fred Abrams on September 4th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

As a FAQ webpage demonstrates, qualified intermediary withholding agreements, (“qi agreements”), with the IRS can obilgate foreign financial institutions to withhold tax monies and report about a U.S. taxpayer’s offshore financial account. The qi agreement between the IRS and UBS AG played a critical role in the UBS John Doe summons case. A February 6, 2009 declaration filed in… Continue Reading

Asset Search News Roundup: August 26, 2012

By Fred Abrams on August 26th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Hiding assets in secret foreign bank accounts: On July 20, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, issued its decision in USA v. J. Bryan Williams, Opinion 102230.U. The decision concentrated on former senior Mobil Corp executive Bryan Williams, who earlier applied two Swiss bank accounts to hide $7 million from the… Continue Reading

Attorney Jack Blum To Talk About Blowing The Whistle

By Fred Abrams on August 19th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Attorney Jack Blum’s law practice focuses on whistleblower representation, anti-money laundering compliance, international tax evasion and the representation of victims of financial crime and fraud. He has been an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Blum additionally served as associate counsel, or assistant counsel, or special counsel to three U.S…. Continue Reading

Swiss Bank Secrecy Seems Poised For Another Hit

By Fred Abrams on July 28th, 2012 Posted in Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks

Reporter Lynnley Browning’s 2009 article “Names Deal Cracks Swiss Bank Secrecy” mentioned the settlement of the UBS John Doe Summons case. Pursuant to that settlement, UBS supplied the IRS with the names of about 4,450 suspected U.S. tax cheats alleged to have opened secret Swiss bank accounts. The settlement was reached through two agreements, one of… Continue Reading

Unmasking Beneficial Owners To Identify Their Assets

By Fred Abrams on April 2nd, 2012 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Laundered Assets analyzes the way a beneficial owner secreted undeclared revenue in a “back-to-back” loan, (i.e. a fully collateralized loan in which the borrower and lender are one and the same). “True Beneficial Owner” facilitated this money laundering scheme by putting a Liberian shell company to work as a nominee / intermediary. A chart at Laundered Assets shows that True… Continue Reading

Asset Search News Roundup: February 6, 2012

By Fred Abrams on February 6th, 2012 Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

The February 6th “Asset Search News Roundup” concentrates on the possible abuse of attorney trust accounts: “Three UBS Clients Accused of Hiding Offshore Money From IRS” outlines the suspected tax fraud case against ex-San Diego tax attorney Christopher M. Rusch and Phoenix-area businessmen Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel. The three are accused of secreting… Continue Reading

Collecting Evidence In An Offshore Asset Search

By Fred Abrams on December 20th, 2011 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Bankruptcy, Divorce & Child Support, Swiss Banks

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

Asset Search News Roundup: October 25, 2011

By Fred Abrams on October 25th, 2011 Posted in Asset Search News, Money Laundering, Swiss Banks

Interdicting 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

By Fred Abrams on July 22nd, 2011 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

An 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

By Fred Abrams on May 23rd, 2011 Posted in Asset Search News, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks

Piercing 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

By Fred Abrams on April 16th, 2011 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

By Fred Abrams on April 8th, 2011 Posted in Asset Search News, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks, White-Collar Crime Generally

This "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

By Fred Abrams on January 29th, 2011 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Divorce & Child Support, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks

Asset 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

By Fred Abrams on December 15th, 2010 Posted in Asset Search News, Financial Institutions, Swiss Banks, Tax Fraud

Today’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

By Fred Abrams on December 8th, 2010 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Financial Institutions, Money Laundering, Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks

Asset 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… Continue Reading

Piercing The Bank Secrecy Veil During A Marital Asset Search

By Fred Abrams on November 8th, 2010 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

By Fred Abrams on October 20th, 2010 Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Public Corruption, Securities Fraud, Swiss Banks

Kleptocrats 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