U.S. authorities are seeking the sanction of asset forfeiture in connection with a 36-story Fifth Avenue N.Y.C. building, alleged to be partly owned by Iran’s Bank Melli. "Assets Seized at Company Suspected of Funneling Money to Iran" and / or a U.S. Treasury Department press release, also report that Bank
Money Laundering
An Asset Search In Geneva
The victims of a securities fraud, divorcing spouses, post-judgment creditors, etc. can have several remedies available to them if they need to recover assets hidden offshore. One might even pursue an asset search or recovery in the various offshore tax havens. This is particularly true when a bank is used as a laundering “link” to hide funds in a money laundering circuit or assets have otherwise been hidden during a financial fraud.
To cite just one example, I have previously filed letters rogatory / legal assistance requests with the Court in Geneva, (“the “Parquet du Procureuer général), because of suspected money laundering at two Swiss banks. As mentioned at “An Asset Search With Letters Rogatory“, these kinds of legal remedies can sometimes be used to elicit financial information from bank witnesses.
Other forms of relief for those seeking to recover funds hidden offshore, can range from attaching a bank account to alerting a financial intelligence unit. Local counsel in Geneva has analyzed these legal remedies which are available in Switzerland and in many other jurisdictions across the globe:
“As you probably know, Switzerland does not follow the common law doctrine. We do not adhere to the institution of discovery. The usual tools available to a claimant are therefore the filing of a criminal complaint, which is actually the most efficient way to get past the banking secrecy. Access to the information will be granted only if someone can be indicted. In exceptional circumstances a broader access to the information collected within the frame of the criminal investigation can be granted on a discretionary basis.
Laundered Assets
By Fred Abrams on
Money laundering typically involves disguising the true beneficial ownership of funds or other assets which are the proceeds of crime. Because money laundering often extends beyond just one nation’s borders, over 170 jurisdictions worldwide have adopted the anti-money laundering policies of the Financial Action Task Force. Some nations also follow the anti-money laundering recommendations…
Recognizing Hidden Assets, The Red Flags
A beneficial owner’s transfer of funds through banks in multiple jurisdictions, can be a red flag that assets have been secreted. Purchasing large amounts of portable valuable commodities, hoarding cash, forming a shell company, etc, can also be red flags as mentioned by “Asset Search Indicia for Divorce, Debt Collection & Bankruptcy”. The…
Concealing Cash By Laundering In Lithuania
The Bank of Lithuania, (i.e. the central bank of Lithuania), announced its recent anti-money laundering measures at a May 15, 2008 board meeting. The Bank’s focus on money laundering might already be paying off. The Financial Intelligence Unit for Lithuania for example, recently detained two international gang members for suspected money laundering.
According to…
Hiding Assets In Informal Banking Systems
By Fred Abrams on
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering
Based on a March 2003 FinCEN Advisory, informal banking systems, (a.k.a. informal value transfer or alternative remittance systems), have been around since 5800 BC. Such systems are abused by terrorists to transfer their funds, as more fully described by a presentation from the Organization for Security and Co-operation In Europe. According to said…
Government Data Mining & An Asset Search
By Fred Abrams on
Data mining predicts patterns through electronic data base technologies like statistical analysis and modeling. Some U.S. law enforcement agencies data mine to predict the criminal patterns of money launderers, terrorist financiers or other criminals. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security for example, mentioned the following four data mining programs in its February 11, 2008 Letter…
Smuggling Cash Across Iraq’s Border
By Fred Abrams on
Posted in Asset Search/Fraud Investigation, Money Laundering
I first wrote about Donnie in my post, Forfeiture & The DEA’s Asset Search. In that post, I mentioned that Donnie was a former Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration who had gone to Iraq to train Iraqi Police. Donnie recently left the Numaniyah National Police Training Academy to travel about an hour’s…
Money Laundering In The U.K.
By Fred Abrams on
Posted in Financial Institutions, Money Laundering
As the Anti Money Laundering Blog mentioned on April 1, 2008, the U.S. State Department has listed the United Kingdom as a Major Money Laundering Country in 2008. The State Department however, had also previously listed the United Kingdom as a Major Money Laundering Country in 2007.
The State Department releases its…
Hidden Assets In A Wisconsin Divorce
By Fred Abrams on
At "An Asset Search, Tax Fraud & Divorce ", I described a conversation I had with Brian– a former IRS Special Agent who had also once been a high-ranking official at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. In that conversation, Brian suggested that a broad range of criminal statutes were sometimes relevant to a tax…