Determined criminals sometimes conceal their illicit cash by laundering it through banks located in multiple jurisdictions. Criminals are not the only ones concealing assets by using bank accounts in multiple jurisdictions. Whether you are a divorcing spouse; a creditor in a bankruptcy case; are collecting money owed on a judgment; etc., these ideas may
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o not know how many witnesses Brian interviewed while he was an IRS Special Agent or when he was a high-ranking official at U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”). Nor do I know the number of informants’ tips Brian collected over the course of his federal law enforcement career. I did
As
“A Surreptitious Search For Money Hidden In Divorce & Other Cases” explains, law enforcement databases may house confidential information about a person’s assets. Private investigators & the general public cannot lawfully access these law enforcement databases/computers. This is the 5th post in my series about what private investigators can and cannot do
The instant post analyzes 2 mistakes I occasionally see divorcing spouses make when they consider whether to search for marital assets hidden from them. It is the 20th post in the “Divorce & Hidden Money” series:
To cheat you out of your fair share, your divorcing spouse, a business partner, an executor handling a decedent’s estate or someone else may hide assets from you. As a result of an asset search or other investigation you might uncover a money trail for these hidden assets.
If you follow the money trail &
This video¹ discusses ways assets can be concealed via money laundering. As the video observes, billions are thought to be laundered worldwide & “laundering takes place within our everyday world of routine business transactions.”
Looking for laundered assets can be critical to a successful asset search, my last post says
As the Federal Trade Commission, (“FTC”), video depicted above reveals, data brokers (a.k.a. “information brokers”) and some other private sector businesses sell your highly personal information. The video says for example, your location, interests, prescriptions and medical history may all be “shared or sold.” Pages 22, 24, 34 & Appendix
My last 2 posts discussed asset recovery tools such as recognizing red flags & using compelled consent forms. Assets might also be recovered as a consequence of researching public records. This 18th post in the “Divorce & Hidden Money” series focuses on how one can perform a low-cost asset search by digging
When vast sums of money are hidden in a bank account there is usually an electronic trace or other kind of money trail. A skilled investigator may help detect the money trail, as suggested by my 2010 post Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace. The post quoted “Roger” a former foreign intelligence officer who was working as a private investigator. At the post, Roger discussed some asset concealment methods and investigative techniques for following a money trail. As these concealment methods and investigative techniques are still being used, the relevant part of Secreting Assets Without A Border Trace is featured below. This is also the 4th post in my series about what private investigators can and cannot do legally when searching for assets.¹
As a consequence of his U.S.-based Ponzi scheme, Bill the investment adviser was indicted for alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (money laundering); 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (tax fraud); 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 2 (mail fraud); 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) and 78ff(a) (securities fraud); and 15 U.S.C. §§ 80b-6 and 80b-17 (investment adviser fraud). The critical question now was: what had happened to the $35 million dollars lost by the damaged investors in Bill’s Ponzi scheme? After Bill insisted he dissipated this $35 million by gambling and on cocaine, prostitutes, etc., federal agents interdicted $1 million U.S. dollars hidden in a bedroom wall at Bill’s California home.
Among the other items the agents seized during their search of Bill’s home, were Bill’s passport, desktop computer, cell phone, bank statements and jewelry store receipts. Some of these items revealed that Bill laundered $7.5 million of the damaged investors’ money through a nominee bank account opened in the name of a Nevada shell company.
Bill had eventually withdrawn this $7.5 million to purchase diamonds and other portable valuable commodities at Nevada jewelry stores He next traveled as an airline passenger to Zurich, Switzerland, according to his passport. To date, the only recovery from Bill’s Ponzi scheme has been the $1 million once hidden in his bedroom wall. Given all of the above, “Roger” explained how investigators could try to determine whether Bill had secreted any of the $35 million in a foreign bank account:
Continue Reading Private Investigators: Detecting Hidden Assets By Following A Money Trail
Divorcing spouses, debtors, determined criminals or others may hide and secretly transfer art assets and cultural heritage property. The article below was written by Leila Amineddoleh Partner at Tarter, Krinsky & Drogin LLC where she specializes in art law. Ms. Amineddoleh teaches International Art & Cultural Heritage Law at Fordham University School of Law and St. John’s University School of Law. Her article explains that art and cultural heritage property can be used to conceal assets in a variety of ways. The article covers these topics:
I. Forgeries, Illicit Imports & Smuggling
II. Valuating Art In A Divorce
III. Art Transfers By Terrorists & Other Criminals
IV. Suing Over Art
By Leila Amineddoleh, Esq.
Not only are art and antiquities beautiful, fascinating, and rich in cultural significance, but they can be great investments. The growing interest in the art world has introduced a new wave of investment products; entire companies have developed in the field of art investment consultation, using art as an alternative investment type. Some economists even claim that art is more secure than stocks, citing the fact that art outperforms the stock market.[1] Since the Second World War, groups of wealthy investors purchased artwork during unstable economic periods. And as with other asset classes, art and antiquities can be used as vehicles for hiding assets.
One of the most frustrating aspects of art and antiquities collecting relates to valuation. There is a vast disparity between values for authentic versus forged objects. For example, where a convincing copy of a Jackson Pollock may sell for a few thousand dollars, an authentic work by the Abstract expressionist painter may sell for up to $50 million. And as the past couple decades have demonstrated, it can be difficult to ascertain which works are by the hand of a purported artist versus a talented art forger. (This difficulty recently became headline news as art investors sued the well-known Knoedler Gallery for selling multi-million dollar forgeries.[2])
These same complications arise with antiquities. It is not only difficult to determine whether an artifact is authentic, but it can be challenging to determine its origin. Smugglers bring antiquities into the US, but lie about the origin of the objects. Illicit importing has been committed in ingenious ways: some smugglers will cover an authentic antiquity in a plastic coating to make the object appear to be a cheap tourist toy; once the object has passed through customs, the plastic coating is removed and the valuable cultural object is revealed.[3] Other smugglers don’t even disguise the works, they simply claim that ancient artifacts are modern-day trinkets bought while abroad. Another way that people misrepresent objects relates to the find spot (the location where an artifact was excavated). By lying about the object’s origin, smugglers conceal valuable information regarding the work’s creation, greatly affecting the value and legality of a work. (For example, objects from Syria have been recently scrutinized for fear that looted artifacts enter the US and fuel the market for illicit objects. So smugglers now claim that these looted works are from other areas of the Middle East, thereby avoiding detection by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.)
Continue Reading Recovering Art Assets & Cultural Heritage Property