In its 2007 National Money Laundering Strategy report, the U.S. government estimated that as much as $36 billion annually from just the former Soviet Union, was being secretly transferred through U.S. bank accounts and U.S. shell companies. Besides using U.S. bank accounts and shell companies, kleptocrats, Ponzi schemers, divorcing spouses, etc., can of course conceal assets by parking them in Swiss or other foreign bank accounts. This program analyzes how bank secrecy laws, multiple jurisdictions and smuggling are utilized in schemes to conceal vast sums of money. A panel of experts will discuss mutual legal assistance treaty relief and using letters rogatory as asset recovery tools. The program will also focus on ways whistleblowers, or other tipsters, may help sniff out these monies and the difficulty lawyers face in dealing with whistleblowers—either as clients or as tipsters.

Jack Blum, Esq. who served as associate counsel, assistant counsel, or special counsel to three U.S. Senate committees or subcommittees, and has been quoted by or mentioned in thousands of newspaper and magazine articles around the world. He was also an expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Blum’s select clients include Heinrich Kieber, who blew the whistle on customers with offshore accounts at Liechtenstein’s private bank, the LGT Group. Mr. Kieber sold his whistleblowing tips to the German government, which used them to track suspected tax cheats. Mr. Blum also represented former Julius Baer Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, who supplied tips about suspected tax evaders to both WikiLeaks and the IRS.

Fred Abrams, Esq. located tens of millions of dollars hidden in offshore tax havens and filed legal proceedings in Zurich, Geneva, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to seek discovery from foreign bank witnesses. Practicing in the asset recovery areas of financial intelligence, financial fraud investigations and forced collection proceedings, he has been cited by Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, MoneyLaundering.com, Reuters and FoxBusiness News. He also publishes “The Asset Search Blog”, (www.assetsearchblog.com), where he writes about interdicting assets which have been fraudulently concealed by politically exposed persons; securities fraudsters; post-judgment debtors; divorcing spouses and others.

Robert Fiechter a partner at Des Gouttes & Partners of Geneva Switzerland. Advocate Fiechter also serves as a Deputy Judge at the Court of Justice of Geneva, an appellate court. He too served as a substitute criminal judge and is the Deputy Secretary of the Supervisory Board of the Swiss Bank’s Code of Conduct.