“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. are speaking at this program.  To attend, please contact the New York County Lawyers’ Association at telephone no. (212) 267-6646.  The program’s description and agenda are as follows:

In its 2007 National Money Laundering Strategy report, the U.S. government estimated that as much as $36 billion annually from just the former Soviet Union, was being secretly transferred through U.S. bank accounts and U.S. shell companies.  Besides using U.S. bank accounts and shell companies, kleptocrats, Ponzi schemers, divorcing spouses, etc., can of course conceal assets by parking them in Swiss or other foreign bank accounts.

This program analyzes how bank secrecy laws, multiple jurisdictions and smuggling are utilized in schemes to conceal vast sums of money. The program discusses mutual legal assistance treaty relief and using letters rogatory as asset recovery tools.  It mentions ways whistleblowers or other tipsters may help sniff out these monies and the difficulty lawyers face in dealing with whistleblowers either as clients or as tipsters.

One of the program’s speakers Jack Blum, Esq., will examine the IRS Whistleblower Program and the ethical concerns gatekeepers such as lawyers and accountants have in reporting illegal behavior in both the civil and criminal contexts.  Mr. Blum served as associate counsel, or assistant counsel, or special counsel to three U.S. Senate committees or subcommittees; and has been quoted by or mentioned in thousands of newspaper and magazine articles around the world.  He was also an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Blum’s select clients include Heinrich Kieber, who blew the whistle on customers with offshore accounts at Liechtenstein’s private bank, the LGT Group.  Mr. Kieber sold his whistleblowing tips to the German government, which used them to track suspected tax cheats.  Mr. Blum too represented former Julius Baer Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, who supplied tips about suspected tax evaders to both WikiLeaks and the IRS.

Another one of the program’s speakers is Robert Fiechter, who is a partner at the Des Gouttes & Partners law firm of Geneva Switzerland, founded in 1834.  Advocate Fiechter also serves as a Deputy Judge at the Court of Justice of Geneva, an appellate court.  He too served as a substitute criminal judge and is the Deputy Secretary of the Supervisory Board of the Swiss Bank’s Code of Conduct.  During the program, Advocate Fiechter will describe the ins and outs of Swiss bank secrecy laws.  He will additionally review the legal remedies available for recovering assets hidden in Switzerland and elsewhere across the globe.

Fred Abrams, Esq. the program’s chair, located tens of millions of dollars hidden in offshore tax havens and filed legal proceedings in Zurich, Geneva, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to seek discovery from foreign bank witnesses.  A member of the New York bar since 1990, he handled a wide variety of legal matters in which assets were hidden, such as RICO, money laundering, identity theft and tax fraud.

Practicing in the asset recovery areas of financial intelligence, financial fraud investigations and forced collection proceedings, Fred Abrams has been cited by Forbes MagazineThe New York TimesMoneyLaundering.com, Reuters and FoxBusiness News. He also publishes “The Asset Search Blog” (www.assetsearchblog.com), where he writes about interdicting assets which have been fraudulently concealed by politically exposed persons; securities fraudsters; post-judgment debtors; divorcing spouses and others.

Program Chair
Fred L. Abrams, Esq., New York City

Faculty:

Jack Blum, Esq.

Robert Fiechter Partner, Des Gouttes & Partners Law Firm, Geneva Swtizerland

Agenda

6:00-6:10 PM         Introduction & Opening Remarks
                                    Fred L. Abrams

6:10-7:00 PM         The Ubiquitous Problem Of  Hidden Assets
                                    Fred L. Abrams

  • How Ponzi schemers, tax cheats, divorcing spouses, etc., may hide assets from domestic authorities and everyone else
  • Following A Money Trail
    • U.S. Bank Secrecy Laws
    • Contaminated or Spurious Tips
  • Recovering assets by using whistleblowers / tipsters in your client’s court case

7:00-7:05 PM         Break

7:05-7:55 PM         Tipping The IRS Via Its Whistleblower Program
                                    Jack Blum

  • Swiss Bank Julius Baer whistleblower, Rudolf Elmer
  • LGT Group’s former Liechtenstein computer technician, Heinrich Kieber

7:55-8:00 PM           Break

8:00 -8:50 PM          Interdicting Assets Hidden Across U.S.
                                       Robert Fiechter

  • Bringing Forced Collection Proceedings In Switzerland & Other Countries
    • Swiss Professional Secrecy Laws
  • Recovering Assets By Using Criminal & Civil Law Tools
    • Seeking Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty & Related Relief

8:50-9:00 PM         Q & A

 

Copyright 2013 Fred Abrams