Echemus Asset Recovery Fund

Nordic Partnership & Gemini Partners present:-

Echemus online every Wednesday.

Presentation dates are November 11th, 18th,25th 2009

START at 2.30pm GMT END 3.30pm GMT.

Dial conference number on +44(0)207 193 3604 or If you have skype please click here

About Asset Recovery

Asset recovery is the single most effective method of taking the profit out of crime and restoring property to its rightful owners

Asset recovery is both a law enforcement tool designed to recover the proceeds of criminal activity and a method of restoring assets to wronged parties through private sector investigation and tracing efforts. By removing the profits and instruments of wrongful activity, asset recovery disrupts fraud, money laundering and other processes of withholding assets from their rightful owners and dismantles criminal organizations. By increasing the risk that criminals will have to give up their ill-gotten assets, it also reduces the incentive to commit crimes.

Monies and other assets recovered and forfeited by governments and private agencies can be used for victim restitution and, in some cases, for law enforcement purposes. Forfeiture funds are often used to finance enhancements in law enforcement training and equipment, or to provide case support that improves the ability of law enforcement to reduce crime, and makes it more difficult for new criminal organizations to establish themselves.

There are three types of forfeiture: civil, criminal and administrative.

In a civil forfeiture proceeding, charges are brought in rem, or against a thing, such as a car used to transport illegal drugs or a building used as a brothel. Civil forfeiture is generally used to remove the instrumentalities or proceeds of crime from the streets.

Criminal forfeiture occurs after a person is convicted of a crime. The forfeiture element of the sentence is meant to strip away the proceeds of illegal activity and, in some cases, to make restitution available to victims.

Administrative forfeiture occurs outside the judicial system, and can only be applied when the assets in question are unclaimed. If a person asserts a claim to assets in an administrative forfeiture proceeding, the government can only move forward with the forfeiture effort by filing a civil or criminal action.

Private sector agencies and investigators in the asset recovery field share a similar mission with their public sector counterparts. "Private sector professionals do battle with overseas bank secrecy, confront the problems of complex cases in multiple jurisdictions and gathering evidence from secretive institutions, just as government agents do. They both need smart, sophisticated, state-of-the art intelligence and training," says Charles Intriago, founder of IAAR. For them, asset recovery allows for restitution to victims and businesses who have been defrauded or otherwise deprived of their assets. Every day, CPAs, forensic accountants, insurance companies, trustees, receivers and banks use this valuable tool to restore assets to their rightful owners.

Blue Print for Asset Recovery

Martin Kenney who sits on the Advisory Board will be a Key speaker at the latest Conference on Asset Recovery

Who should attend?

1. Bank officers in special assets, asset recovery
2. Bankruptcy trustees and attorneys
3. Law enforcement special agents
4. Prosecutors who work in asset forfeiture
5. FDIC-appointed and other liquidators
6. Insurance company Special Investigative Unit investigators, analysts
7. Attorneys specializing in:
8. Asset recovery
9. Financial institutions
10. Litigation
11. International law
12. Intellectual property
13. Matrimonial
14. Receivers
15. Investigators
16. Forensic accountants
17. Credit card company fraud and restitution units
18. Corporate monitors
19. Private inspectors general
20. Contract investigators for federal agencies
21. Trademark counterfeit corporate victims
22. Auditors

register for the conference here

The International Association for Asset Recovery (IAAR)

About IAAR

The International Association for Asset Recovery (IAAR) is a membership organization for private and public sector professionals who work in the field of asset recovery. Founded in 2008 as the Association of Certified Asset Forfeiture Specialists, its mission is to enhance the capabilities and standards of professionals and agencies worldwide in the battle to win back assets that rightfully belong to governments, organizations or individuals victimized by criminal or wrongful conduct.

Taking away the ill-gotten gains of wrongdoers and using them either to make restitution to victims or to strengthen the arm of law enforcement in the fight against crime is one of the most powerful weapons available for keeping the public safe, eliminating corruption, and crippling cross-border criminal enterprises. Tracing and recovering the assets of individuals whose rightful property is being withheld from them likewise serves the cause of justice. We at IAAR are committed to promoting and advancing the legal, effective and ethical use of asset recovery as a tool by both the public and private sectors. Used properly, asset recovery can have a devastating effect on illicit activity that is driven by financial motives.

The work our members do every day helps keep communities around the world safe and assets in the hands of their rightful owners. That is why the need for qualified asset recovery specialists continues to intensify and the rewards that come from ensuring that they have the necessary legal and investigative skills are growing. IAAR is dedicated to doing everything possible to ensure that members stay on the leading edge of asset recovery strategies and practice.
"Criminals in the United States today put at risk less than 1 percent of the dirty money they make. That's a very attractive risk for them to assume from their life of crime. They earn about $500 billion from crime, while government agencies at all levels-federal, state and local-seize and forfeit only about $4 billion each year."
- Charles Intriago, Founder of AssetRecoveryWatch.com and IAAR

To accomplish that, IAAR is devoting its energies to creating a global community of expertly trained recovery specialists and identifying ways to maximize the use of asset tracing and recovery while safeguarding the public against illegal or overzealous seizure. IAAR helps professionals and law enforcement agencies carry out their vital work by connecting them to a worldwide professional community so that they can share tactics, experiences and tools, and make their efforts even more successful.

Litigation funding employed in £400m divorce

Funding firms steps in to help find alleged missing millions

The very public proceedings in the Young divorce case have made further headlines by highlighting the use of litigation funding to help find the alleged missing millions.

The proceedings in the High Court first hit the news after the husband claimed he was now penniless, though once worth £400m, and a retort from the wife that he had faked a mental breakdown to avoid discovery. The latest twist is the revelation that a commercial litigation funder, Harbour Litigation Funding, has now stepped in to assist the wife trace the allegedly missing money.

More on this story can be found on the FT website here. This development has also inspired Boris Johnson for his weekly Telegraph column, who reflects that such funding can only help London's image as the divorce capital of the world:

"These zillionaires are going to get divorced, whatever we do..... And if they are going to get divorced, isn't there a cynical economic logic in encouraging them to do it in London?

Far from being a sign of moral malaise, I am inclined to see this Divorce Fund initiative as the latest evidence of the resilience of the London economy."

The full article can be found on The Telegraph website here.