Tracing the Proceeds of Fleeing Money (From The Regulation and Prevention of Economic Crime Internationally, P 149-155, 1995, Jonathan Reuvid, ed. -- See NCJ-160747)

• NCJ Number: 160753
• Author(s): J Forbes
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: Kogan Page Ltd
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This chapter provides guidelines for tracing the proceeds of fraud, as the offenders attempt to convert the stolen assets into usable funds.

Abstract

The laundering of assets obtained from criminal enterprises can take many forms, but will usually involve a series of transactions that transfer the funds from one point to the next. The investigator who is seeking to trace the proceeds of fleeing money needs to know the starting point of the trail, the point where the money or asset disappeared from the organization. Having determined the starting point, the asset tracing investigation is based on obtaining and analyzing information to illustrate the subsequent trail. This requires the proper mix of investigative skills. The information obtained will be diverse, including internal records of the defrauded organization, interviews of the people involved, company and land registry records, bank records, and press reports. The investigator's aim is the recovery of the stolen funds. In reality, however, some or all of the funds may have already been used. In this case, the investigator will seek to seize the fraudster's other assets. This may be fruitful if the fraudster is wealthy, but often the identifiable assets (house, car, other bank accounts) will be less than the costs of the action to seize them. Another path of recovery is to look for other individuals or organizations who have assisted in the fraud. It may be possible to prove a criminal conspiracy, and so to attack the assets of the co- fraudsters.