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.