asset portfolio. Limiting research and resources to the jurisdiction where legal proceedings are being brought is counterproductive as there is no guarantee any assets will be found there, or that we will identify sufficient assets to cover the quantum sought. Thus, we undertake global asset tracing investigations followed by an assessment of those assets which will typically focus on jurisdiction, type of asset and asset value. Thereafter, deciding which assets to pursue depends on where the proceedings are taking place, the location of assets and the strategy of the legal team. There are some jurisdictions where recognising legal proceedings from a foreign court is more straightforward than others. Assets in those places may be more attractive prospects to pursue for recovery. There are also some jurisdictions where statute dictates how domestic courts can assist with information requests from foreign proceedings, for example Section 1782 of Title 28 of the United States Code (Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals). It remains the case that there will always be jurisdictional challenges when it comes to asset tracing, but that fundamentally all good asset recovery strategies rely on a close working relationship between creative investigators and savvy legal teams. Can you discuss any recent examples or case studies in which K2 Integrity assisted a corporation? We have worked on a lot of challenging corporate disputes over the past year but two good examples of wideranging investigations spring to mind. In the first case, we were engaged by a European telecommunications company to investigate several people who had received payments resulting from a multimillion Euro fraud undertaken against our client. Through analysis of public records including property documents, planning applications, company filings and genealogical information, we were able to establish 28 LAWYER MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2024 There are a range of proprietary databases and AI technology that are becoming increasingly advanced and intuitive. UBOs with Companies House. This can be a powerful tool, but often companies are able to declare trustees or further offshore companies as their UBOs. As such, experienced investigators are still required for creative strategies to unravel counterparties’ attempts to hide their assets. How should investigators overcome the jurisdictional issues that are often associated with asset tracing? Asset tracing is generally a global exercise. We rarely see cases where a subject has all their assets located in one jurisdiction. It therefore becomes a challenge to litigate against a subject in one place, knowing that they have valuable assets elsewhere. As investigators, we will always seek to attain a holistic picture of a subject’s
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