Resources for Asset Tracing and Recovery

Articles / Papers

Associations

  • assetrecovery.org - a web-based knowledge-sharing and training tool, includes section on Practical Tools. Maintained by the  International Center for Asset Recovery (ICAR) which assists authorities to enhance their capacities to seize, confiscate and recover the proceeds of corruption and money laundering.  

  • assetrecoverywatch.com - includes news articles, training, and how to certify as a Certified Specialist in Asset Recovery. Privately owned by Charles Intriago.

  • The Asset Recovery Experts Network (AREN) is an informal online forum for professionals, who are involved in processes of recovering stolen assets, to connect, network, communicate and exchange information, at all times, on issues associated and related to asset recovery.

Blogs

Books

Commercial Databases

Sani Abacha, Nigeria 4.3 billion
Felix Houphouet, Ivory Coast 3.5 billion
Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria 3.0 billion
Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire 2.2 billion
Moussa Traore Mali 1.8 billion
Henri Konan Bedie, Ivory Coast 200 million
Denis Sassou Nguesso, Congo 120 million
Omar Bongo, Gabon 50 million
Paul Biya, Cameroon 45 million
Haile Mariam, Ethiopia 20 million
Hissane Habre, Chad 2 million

About USD 1.1 billion stolen by Abacha has been recovered. His family and business associates had more than 140 bank accounts in Switzerland alone.

Government Databases

  • The Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD) is maintained by SOCA.  It records asset recovery information for all law enforcement activity across the UK.

  • The Anti-Money Laundering International Database (AMLID) is a secure, multilingual database established by IMoLIN. AMLID is a compendium of analyses of anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including two general classes of money laundering control measures (domestic laws and international cooperation), as well as information about national contacts and authorities. It is an important reference tool for law enforcement officers involved in cross-jurisdictional work to assist them in their international cooperation and exchange of information efforts.

  • The Currency and Banking Retrieval System (CBRS) is an on-line database that contains Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) information.

  • The Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Database was launched by Interpol in 2009.

Courses

Legislation (Canada)

  •  Anton Piller Order-  provides for search and seizure without prior warning.

"An Anton Piller order bears an uncomfortable resemblance to a private search warrant. No notice is given to the party against whom it is issued. Indeed, defendants usually first learn of them when they are served and executed, without having had an opportunity to challenge them or the evidence on which they were granted. The defendant may have no idea a claim is even pending. The order is not placed in the hands of a public authority for execution, but authorizes a private party to insist on entrance to the premises of its opponent to conduct a surprise search, the purpose of which is to seize and preserve evidence to further its claim in a private dispute. The only justification for such an extraordinary remedy is that the plaintiff has a strong prima facie case and can demonstrate that on the facts, absent such an order, there is a real possibility relevant evidence will be destroyed or otherwise made to disappear." - Celanese Canada Inc. v. Murray Demolition Corp., 2006 SCC 36 

There must be: (i) a strong prima facie case of fraud or other misconduct; (ii) a "genuine risk" that assets will be disposed or removed outside the usual and ordinary course of business to defeat judgment; (iii) full and frank disclosure of all material facts known to the plantif. 
  •  Norwich Pharmacal Order - forces disclosure of evidence from innocent third parties. Used by the music industry to force Internet service providers (ISPs) to disclose the identity of customers said to be guilty of copyright infringement by trading in music downloaded from the internet. 

As cited in BMG Canada Inc. v. John Doe, the critieria for granting the order are as follows:

(a) the applicant must establish a prima facie case against the unknown alleged wrongdoer;

(b) the person from whom discovery is sought must be in some way involved in the matter under dispute, he must be more than an innocent bystander;

(c) the person from whom discovery is sought must be the only practical source of information available to the applicants;

(d) the person from whom discovery is sought must be reasonably compensated for his expenses arising out of compliance with the discovery order in addition to his legal costs;

(e) the public interests in favour of disclosure must outweigh the legitimate privacy concerns.

Organizations

  • ICC FraudNet is a network of attorneys at law set up at the beginning of 2004 under the umbrella of the International Chamber of Industry and Commerce (ICC) in Paris who have specialised in combating white-collar crime. FraudNet is under the Commercial Crime Services of ICC in London. 2010 Conference, Calgary, Alberta.

  • OAS Hemispheric Information Exchange Network for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and Extradition - The Network is composed of three components: a public website, a private website and a secure electronic communication system.

  • The Basel Institute on Governance is an independent non-profit think tank conducting research, policy development and capacity building in the areas of corporate and public governance, anti-corruption and asset tracing and recovery. Based in Basel, Switzerland, and associated with the University of Basel, the Institute co-operates with governments and non-government organisations from around the world. The Institute has two branches: the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR) and the Centre for Governance and Anti-Corruption (GOV).

Software

Websites


Skip Tracers / Asset Recovery Services