Stephen Baker and Ed Shorrock write for the Basel Institute on Governance's new publication ‘Tracing Stolen Assets – A Practitioner’s Handbook

Advocate Stephen Baker and Ed Shorrock, Director of Forensic and Regulatory Services at BakerPlatt have teamed up with some of the world’s leading authorities to contribute a chapter entitled ’Gatekeepers, Corporate Structures and their Role in Money Laundering’ for a new publication by the Basel Institute on Governance. Drawing on the combined skills and experience of practitioners in the field of asset tracing, the publication deals with an essential precondition for asset recovery : asset tracing.

At a time when there is an increasing focus of graft and embezzlement of public funds, pushed by the twin efforts of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the StAR (Stolen Assets Recovery) initiative being pursued by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the decisive steps taken at the early stages of an investigation are key.  Stephen and Ed’s chapter contributes to the understanding of how gatekeepers, often in the form of lawyers and accountants, with their use of corporate structures can act as a barrier to the tracing of assets.  Only by recognising their role and methods are investigators and prosecutors able to trace and successfully recover assets which have been illegally obtained.  This chapter identifies the key issues.

For further information on purchasing a copy of the publication, please contact christianmay@bakerplatt.com.