At "Asset Search Indicia For Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy ", I described a number of common asset concealment methods. Three of these methods, (i.e. cash, portable valuable commodities and nominees), are explored by this week’s "Asset Search News Roundup":
a) As I suggested to Forbes Magazine in its March 13, 2008 article "Cash Is King, cash remains hard to trace and can be used to hide one’s assets. This very point was partly demonstrated by "Stash of Cash in Escambia County", which explained that a recent drug raid discovered hundreds of thousands of dollars at one Florida home, hidden in book bags, air conditioning ducts, etc.
b) The October 2008 article "UBS and the Diamond Smuggler" mentioned how portable valuable commodities like diamonds may be used to hide assets. The article disclosed that UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld had hidden assets from the IRS by transporting diamonds in a tube of toothpaste at Swiss and U.S. border crossings. Mr. Birkenfeld’s other asset concealment methods were discussed at my post, "Offering Offshore Asset Protection To Tax Cheats".
c) Hareetz.com reported in "Police list reveals Abergil family assets", that wives and several others may have essentially been used as nominees to conceal the assets of a suspected Israeli criminal cartel. Identified by Israeli authorities as early as 2004, some of these alleged illicit assets include: dozens of vehicles, 37 companies and 48 apartments.
Copyright 2008 Fred L. Abrams