Narco-traffickers who conduct their illicit activities across the U.S.-Mexican border may fall under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. § 1901-1908, 8 U.S.C. § 1182) and Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995. Assets are frozen under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (“the Kingpin Act”), if they are subject to
An Asset Search In Amsterdam
My post "An Asset Search In Geneva" describes different ways one might search for or recover assets even when they are hidden in an offshore jurisdiction such as Switzerland. Just as in the case of assets hidden in a Swiss bank, a letter rogatory / legal assistance request could be used to elicit
Clawback Caused By A Ponzi Scheme
Image: Steve Hillebrand / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Investors who profited because of Allen B. Stanford’s suspected securities fraud / Ponzi scheme may face clawback lawsuits under the Bankruptcy Code, according to Bloomberg.Com’s "Stanford Receiver May Need a Decade to Pay Victims". Investors who collected profits from Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme could
Forced Collections Against A Fraudster Like Madoff
Forced collection proceedings against a fraudster like Mr. Bernard Madoff can involve an extraordinary number of prospective plaintiffs with competing interests in the fraudster’s assets. In Mr. Madoff’s case, some of these plaintiffs competing over assets might even include foreign governmental authorities seeking asset forfeiture because of Mr. Madoff’s money laundering in the United Kingdom or perhaps elsewhere.
Another prospective plaintiff in Mr. Madoff’s case, is Irving H. Picard, Trustee for the liquidation of Mr. Madoff’s assets on behalf of thousands of victims, pursuant to the Securities Investor Protection Act and the Court’s Order. As "Madoff Trustee Seeks to Recover Assets in Gibraltar" reported, Mr. Picard just made a bankruptcy court filing seeking to retain special counsel to recover property in Gibraltar which belongs to Madoff.
Given all of the foregoing, I asked Swiss counsel to examine some of the complexities in pursuing forced collection proceedings against a fraudster like Mr. Madoff. My discussion with Swiss counsel was based on the hypothetical that someone similar to Mr. Madoff had hidden assets in banks in Switzerland. Swiss counsel’s comments are as follows:
"Complex forced collection proceedings may combine several competing recovery actions involving civil, criminal and administrative recovery remedies. To add to the complexity, these actions may be originated in various jurisdictions.
To take a concrete example, I am currently representing a client who was the victim of a fraud perpetrated in a far-eastern country. A criminal action against the perpetrator of the fraud was conducted in this country. The proceeds of the crime were transferred by the fraudster to the US where the fraudster managed to escape.
The fraudster was arrested at the request of the far-eastern country and sat in jail for three years for extradition purposes. Ultimately, he was extradited to that country and has now been sentenced to several years’ imprisonment.
The defrauded client chose to file a complaint for fraud, intentional misrepresentation, active concealment and several other counts including a RICO action against the fraudster in a Californian court.
The US attorney sought from a district court, an arrest warrant in rem of several assets in the US and also of funds deposited in a bank in Geneva.
Continue Reading Forced Collections Against A Fraudster Like Madoff
Bernard Madoff & The Badges Of Fraud
The Wall Street Journal article "Madoff Used U.K. Office in Cash Ploy, Filing Says", states that Bernard Madoff is expected to plead guilty today to 11 felony counts arising out of his alleged Ponzi scheme. That article also mentions that Mr. Madoff is accused of concealing assets by money laundering in the U.K
Asset Forfeiture Via Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties
When assets are hidden in a foreign bank account or are otherwise offshore, domestic authorities might be able to seek asset forfeiture, discovery or other relief pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (“MLAT”). Depending on the circumstances, MLAT’s can particularly help domestic authorities trying to locate, (and then possibly forfeit), criminal proceeds which have
Financial Fraud Via Shell Companies In Nevada, Delaware, Etc.
My post “Domestic Shell Companies & An Asset Search” explained that assets are sometimes concealed by shell companies used in a variety of financial frauds. In fact, states like Nevada and Delaware are especially prone to the formation of shell companies lacking transparency. Once such shell companies are established in Nevada, Delaware or
Asset Forfeiture Goes Global
Financial Intelligence Units or other government agencies throughout the world have a keen interest in searching for illicit assets and then forfeiting them. This global interest in asset forfeiture is perhaps marked by the growth of “goAML” software from The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “GoAML” even includes “goATR”, which
Politically Exposed Persons & Money Laundering
My September 26, 2008 Asset Search News Roundup mentioned that public corruption crimes can involve concealing bribe payments or other illicit assets. This is perhaps why financial institutions sometimes check lists of “Politically Exposed Persons“, (i.e. individuals holding high foreign public office, a.k.a. “PEPs”), in an anti-money laundering program. These lists of “Politically
Three African Heads of State Sued For Hiding Assets
A "Misappropriated Public Assets" civil petition in France claims that the presidents of Gabon, Congo Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea are likely hiding assets. The "Misappropriated Public Assets" petition against the three heads of state was filed December 2, 2008 by both Transparency International (France) and the Sherpa Association.
The assets at issue in France