The Asset Tracer's Armoury

Abstract

From the media it is easy to believe that the law does not provide a realistic remedy against fraudsters and that even if they are caught, the assets which they have whisked away will have disappeared into the ether. However, the recent success of lawyers representing the Salvation Army in recovering monies lost in international fraud demonstrates that the fraudsters do not always get the upper hand. Using an effective and at times innovative combination of ancillary orders to compel the disclosure of evidence and information and to freeze assets, Slaughter and May were able to retrieve for their client not only the $8.8m originally lost, but also $4.9m in interest and costs. This article looks at the legal background to the three principal types of order which were obtained — Norwich Pharmacal orders, Anton Piller orders and Mareva injunctions — and draws on the Salvation Army case to illustrate their use in practice.