With seamless global transfers of funds, fraudsters can instantaneously steal and hide liquid assets inside financial institutions across the globe. Teams of well-funded, professional criminals are aided and abetted by cyber stealth and bank secrecy laws.
Time is of the essence when recovering assets. Setting up an ad hoc international team of asset recovery professionals in many jurisdictions can be time-consuming, ineffective and costly. Furthermore, fraud victims will find that fraud is a low priority for law enforcement, whose focus is on criminal punishment but not on reparation for the fraud victim. Law enforcement’s international reach is constrained by the formalities of international law, and most agencies lack the resources to quickly freeze assets before they are transferred beyond their jurisdiction.
Successfully combatting international fraud and corruption requires concerted, multi-jurisdictional expertise and decisive legal action by experienced professionals over and above traditional law enforcement.
FraudNet members can assist creditor-victims and estate fiduciaries (trustees, liquidators, etc.) with a growing number of litigation finance tools. Creative fee arrangements, including full and blended contingency arrangements and third-party financing, may be available to finance investigation and recovery efforts.