Case Study
Asset Trace - Worldwide
A multi-jurisdictional investigation to identify those responsible for misappropriating and dispersing the shares of an Eastern European holding company immediately prior to its sale.
Extensive investigations were conducted in Eastern and Western Europe, Panama and the Caribbean, which showed how the shares had been misappropriated using forged documents and then dispersed via a convoluted structure of shell companies, nominee directors and shareholders. Those responsible were identified and the shares were traced to shell companies registered in Panama and the British Virgin Islands, where they were held under the control of an attorney based in Switzerland.
Although they now had sufficient evidence to launch a legal claim to the shares, lawyers acting for the rightful owner of the shares had no confidence in the local judicial system, believing it to be compromised. However, the shares' new ownership structure contained companies and law firms based in the USA, which enabled the investor to pursue those responsible for stealing his company through the courts in New York.