Asset tracing across borders: how the money is found and what it takes to get it back

Money that has been taken does not disappear. It becomes a property in Dubai, a company in Singapore, a boat in Phuket, a trust in Jersey, a balance in a fintech account in Lithuania. Asset tracing is the discipline of following it from the point of loss to something that can be frozen and recovered, and doing so in a way that a court will accept.

Start with the outflow

Tracing begins with the company's own records: the payments that should not have happened, the accounts they went to, the entities that received them. Bank statements, payment gateway records, invoices and approval trails give the first hop. Because these are the company's records, they can be obtained immediately and lawfully.

The second hop needs a legal tool

The receiving bank will not tell you where the money went next. In Australia, the UK and most Commonwealth jurisdictions, your lawyers can seek disclosure orders against banks and third parties when the evidence shows funds were misappropriated. In many other jurisdictions similar tools exist under different names. The investigator's job is to give the lawyers enough to justify the order: who, which account, which dates, and why it is likely the funds went there.

Follow the asset, not only the cash

Cash is converted quickly. What remains findable is what it becomes. Company registries show new incorporations and shareholdings in the subject's name or their family's. Land registries show property. Vehicle, vessel and aircraft registers show the expensive toys. Court records show disputes that reveal assets. Trade press and social media show lifestyle that does not match declared income. In many countries these records are searchable; in others, a licensed local partner has to retrieve them in person.

Jurisdiction by jurisdiction

A tracing exercise across South East Asia, the Gulf and Europe encounters very different systems. Singapore and the UK have excellent public registries. The UAE's land and company records are accessible through official channels with the right process. Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines require local presence for most retrievals. Offshore centres disclose little publicly but their companies hold assets and bank accounts onshore, which is where the trail is picked up again. Knowing which door to knock on in each place is most of the skill.

What can and cannot be done

Everything in a tracing report has to be usable in court. That means public records, records obtained by lawful process, open sources, and voluntary information. It excludes hacked data, pretext calls to banks, purchased bank records and unlawful surveillance. Evidence from those sources taints the matter and exposes the client to liability. Good tracing is patient and lawful; it is not less effective for being so.

From tracing to recovery

Tracing produces a map: assets, their location, their likely value, who holds them and how. Lawyers use it to obtain freezing orders so the assets cannot be moved, disclosure orders to fill the gaps, and judgments or insolvency proceedings to realise them. Recovery often ends in negotiation once the subject understands what has been found. The investigator stays involved through that phase, updating the map as assets move and new jurisdictions come into play.

Being realistic

Not everything is recoverable. Money spent on living, gambled or moved through jurisdictions with no cooperation is often gone. A good tracing exercise tells you early what is reachable and what is not, so the decision to pursue is made with the costs and the odds in view.

Valitros conducts asset tracing under the direction of your lawyers, with record retrieval and enquiries through licensed partners across South East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. See the service or book a confidential call.