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What to do if you discover a fraud….Mona Vaswani, Partner Litigation

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Who should be notified

Insurers Regulators Criminal authorities Money laundering issues

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Objectives

Identify perpetrators – find the rot Need to investigate Head on a pole Corporate morale Financial recovery / defending claims Publicity and reputation Principle

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Managing the investigation

Who needs to be involved Preserving evidence Preserving privilege Dealing with employees Conducting interviews Assembling the team

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Private Investigators

Finding the right firm Observing applicable law Privilege Proceedings against the client and solicitors involved

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Choosing the Defendants and Jurisdiction

Too many defendants Costs Delay Tactics Jurisdiction

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Securing the assets

Asset freezing injunctions Gagging order Proprietary injunctions Trusts and offshore structures Bogus transfers Insolvency provisions Attacking legal privilege Multi-jurisdictional co-ordination Confiscation of passport

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Search Orders

Search of office and home Real risk of destruction of evidence Conduct of the search

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Interim battles

Asset disclosure Legal and living expenses Contempt of court Tactics Fake illnesses

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PR

Tactics for the client Interaction of legal proceedings and PR

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Co-ordination with criminal proceedings

Effect of criminal investigation / prosecution on civil proceedings

Confiscation orders Interview of witnesses Delay Financial recovery? Standard of proof

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Making accomplices pay

No recovery from fraudster Tracing claims Personal claims against “deep pocket” accessories

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Settlement and mediation

Mediation in fraud litigation Where it’s helpful Where it’s not

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Questions?