Asset Tracing

Uncovering hidden assets and liabilities

Often when reviewing outstanding loan books, either for the purposes of recovery or sale of same, many creditors find that they have a high concentration of exposures in specific areas. These reviews can identify a significant underestimation of the extent to which these customers were borrowing from the other lenders.

These reviews can also identify a high volume of personally guaranteed loans which are not always supported by verification of the personal wealth of the guarantor and in some instances these guarantees have proven to be far less valuable than presumed.

As part of the recovery process, these creditors, mainly banks and lending institutions, seek a comprehensive review of current and recently disposed of assets of the relevant individual(s).

Our team of Forensic Accountants have worked with banks and other creditors to identify assets that may have been sold, transferred, undervalued or undisclosed to the bank by a borrower in an attempt to defeat any potential claim against same.

We also assist in the assessment and validation of a borrower’s Statement of Affairs by utilising our Corporate Intelligence and Asset Identification techniques. In addition, our asset tracing experts assist with fraud investigations and can add significant value to such projects.

In order to trace and identify an individuals or an organisation’s assets, searches are performed across publically available information using sophisticated search tools. This process provides assistance to clients in the following circumstances;

• Justify application for worldwide freezing orders;
• As part of a routine credit assessment;
• Pre- and post-judgement;
• Prior to settlement discussions or as part of a consensual arrangement;
• As part of personal insolvency arrangements;
• To assist forensic investigations.