Once a serious economic criminal learns that most of his concealed wealth has been frozen in multiple jurisdictions; that raids to search for and seize his confidential accounting, company and trust records have taken place in numerous locations;

At an appropriate stage in an investigation, consideration ought to be given to administering a polygraph examination of the principal target or other primary witnesses.

The SEC rule that would have required oil and gas and mining companies to disclose each year their payments to foreign governments was intended to increase transparency and prevent back-handers...

My law firm seeks to recover assets stolen by international fraud and grand corruption.

The United States champions itself as a nation policing the rest of the world, preventing money laundering, tax evasion and foreign corrupt practices.

I have long advocated that Grand Corruption should be considered a crime against humanity, under Article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.

The term money laundering applies to the diverse and evolving methods by which proceeds of crime or fraud are rendered capable of enjoyment as legitimately sourced funds.

Given the complexity of serious fraud investigations, and the significant number of individuals and entities ordinarily involved, an analytic procedure known as link network diagramming – commonly referred to as Link Analysis – ought to be used to facilitate the investigation and case structuring.

If the demand for change was simply being driven by a need to exert additional governance over the offshore business community, I would raise little objection.

With the development of the BVI as an offshore financial centre ('OFC') in the early 1980s many companies have decided to establish domicile in the jurisdiction.

Key to the success of any fraud recovery plan is tied to the accuracy and completeness of our understanding of the fraudster himself – or of his characteristics, habits and modus operandi. So what has that to do with redefining the victim?

The discovery of major loss through fraud or deceit can come as a shock. One forensic accountant has said:

Fraud and insolvency can be vexing. However, there are a number of tools available to an insolvency professional who is faced with an insolvent estate that has been made the victim of grand malfeasance or fraud.

Restitution has been defined as a body of law in which (a) substantive liability is based on unjust enrichment, (b) the measure of recovery is based on the defendant's gain instead of the plaintiff's loss, or (c) the court restores to the plaintiff, in kind, his lost property or its proceeds.

There are many obstacles that must be traversed by a claimant or victim on his path to recovery that are fundamental to the design of any asset recovery litigation.

All complex inquiries start with and are shaped by a model or plan. Each fraud recovery model must be custom-built from the bottom up.

"Fraud is infinite in variety; sometimes it is audacious and unblushing; sometimes it pays a sort of homage to virtue, and then it is modest and retiring; it would be honesty itself if it could only afford it."

The cost of large scale asset recovery inquiries and associated litigation is a factor which often deters victims of economic crime from pursuing their rights, preferring instead to abandon any hope for recovery.

As the term implies, 'concealed asset recovery' involves the recovery of wealth from a dishonest obligor – where such wealth has been laundered, camouflaged or hidden.

Since the early 1970's, Courts in the British Commonwealth have moved to respond to the dishonest dealer who may, if given the opportunity to do so, seek to avoid his obligations by concealing evidence, dissipating or transferring assets, and resorting to delaying tactics.