February 13, 2019
Publication: Citywealth
London-based Kobre & Kim attorneys with experiential expertise in criminal and civil asset forfeiture, Jason Masimore and Leonora Sagan, spoke with Citywealth Magazine on the various stages and methods of asset recovery in divorce settlements involving high-net-worth individuals, or HNWI’s.
Ms. Sagan discusses the use of new more transparent discovery laws in offshore jurisdictions to locate funds and expose transactions. “The push for transparency, fuelled by anti-money-laundering efforts or “AML”, has made it easier to obtain crucial information about the ultimate beneficial owners behind trusts,” she said.
In addition, Mr. Masimore points to extraterritorial US criminal laws as a method to further the process of asset freezing and confiscation. “Broad U.S. asset confiscation powers and its willingness to cause effects outside the US are often useful to build settlement pressure against an ex-spouse who has been involved in criminal or fraudulent activity, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere,” he explained.