My father attended Far Rockaway High School at the same time as Mr. Bernard Madoff and in fact, they were in the same graduating class. He remembers from his high school yearbook "The Dolphin", that Mr. Madoff had lived in the Rockaways and was an ardent swimmer. My father even showed me "The Dolphin", which
Foreign Bank Secrecy Laws & An Asset Search
Assets hidden in an offshore tax haven which are the subject of a divorce, forced collection proceeding, etc., can sometimes be uncovered by eliciting evidence from a bank witness residing in that offshore tax haven. This is true because letters rogatory or other legal proceedings can usually be brought against an offshore bank witness in
A Domestic Subpoena / Summons In An Offshore Asset Search
If assets are hidden in multiple jurisdictions, it can be necessary to conduct asset searches of foreign banks or other witnesses residing offshore. Such “offshore asset searches” typically involve Letters Rogatory, (a.k.a Legal Assistance Requests), which may be used to compel foreign banks or other witnesses residing offshore to give:
- Details about a
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.
Offering Offshore Asset Protection To Tax Cheats
At “Asset Search vs. Offshore Asset Protection“, I wrote that offshore asset protection services were being used to conceal assets from IRS revenue officers and others. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations, just issued a 114-page report examining this same issue. The Report entitled, Tax Haven Banks And U.S. Tax Compliance,
Following The Money Trail In Zurich
While “Roger” and I were walking near Bahnhofstrasse Street, Zurich, Roger suddenly stopped and had us duck into a corner shop. Once inside the shop Roger appeared to be looking for a particular item displayed in the shop’s front window, although he was really scrutinizing the outside street. He explained afterwards how it was necessary to check if we were being followed: “But first you must choose a side street or a main street where there are not many pedestrians or traffic, not a busy thoroughfare. You take mental pictures of everyone you think could be potential followers or surveillance cars as you continue along, before entering a store with windows which will permit you to survey the street“.
Roger had a knack for locating offshore financial information because of his former work as an intelligence officer. He and I were in Zurich on our way to meet my local Swiss counsel. We were following the money trail of a financial fraudster who pretended in his U.S. court case to have a negative net worth. Roger had brought with him the details of the fraudster’s finances, which demonstrated that the fraudster had hidden tens of millions of dollars by money laundering through Switzerland. Roger was about to share this information with me for the first time, at our meeting with the Swiss counsel.
In some cases, offshore financial information discovered during an asset search suggests that a foreign criminal law has been violated. In Switzerland for example, one might conceivably violate criminal laws by lying about the beneficial ownership of a bank account, as mentioned in this legal memo from Swiss counsel:
(To Read The Legal Memo, Click On The Image Above)Continue Reading Following The Money Trail In Zurich
Using Multiple Jurisdictions To Launder Money
Parking assets offshore in one jurisdiction and then exercising control over them through another, sometimes indicates money laundering. One example of how multiple jurisdictions may have been used to facilitate money laundering, is the case of United States v. Proceeds of Crime Transferred to Certain Domestic Financial Accounts, U.S. District Court for the
An Asset Search In Switzerland
A former Criminal Intelligence Specialist at Scotland Yard confirmed that the divorcing husband was hiding millions from his wife by using bank accounts in Switzerland. The husband’s true beneficial ownership of these funds had been concealed by a nominee (i.e. intermediary). This nominee had opened the Swiss bank accounts in the names of shell corporations
Money Laundering, Marital Assets & Divorce
Money laundering circuits sometimes operate in the U.S. through domestic bank accounts used as “laundering links”. It is also true that money laundering circuits washing vast sums of money, will typically do so through offshore bank accounts located in tax havens like Switzerland, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, etc. Such was the case of one divorcing