Investigators must find creative ways to locate hidden assets, and the task takes work. There are numerous ways of hiding assets, such as pre-paying an existing mortgage, stashing them under the mattress, or buying a stamp collection and putting it in a safe.
The investigators at Discreet Investigations are ready to take up the challenge of searching for hidden assets and using their extensive experience to accomplish the task successfully. No matter the method used for uncovering hidden assets, investigators must always ensure these methods are legitimate. A lot of work is involved, and it is more challenging than it appears.
Here are some legal and legitimate ways of recovering hidden assets used by investigators.
- Surveillance
To locate hidden assets, investigators start monitoring the activities of the suspected person and follow them closely wherever they go. As a result, investigators can gather a lot of information: where they work, the people they meet, who are their friends, acquaintances, and associates. The continuous monitoring might lead the investigator to a business or vacation home listed in the name of some relative. They might even trace the person to a yacht registered somewhere. Never could anyone imagine such a surprising discovery.
- Interviews
To find assets, private investigators usually access numerous public/ open source records for review and analysis to find support. However, to take the investigation further, interviewing the concerned person/s can help gather more information that was unavailable earlier. Analyzing the data can provide valuable leads about concealed assets. Moreover, interviewing other persons with some relationship with the accused is also very helpful. From opposing parties in litigation to former business partners, former co-workers or neighbours might provide essential clues in tracking hidden assets.
- Dumpster diving
It is often possible to recover financial statements, bank statements, and other records related to hidden assets, depending on the local laws that allow searching dumpsters and trash bins. Although the process could be clearer, it is a highly effective and legal way to trace assets from financial records that did not appear in other records reviewed earlier. Analyzing the information gathered can provide important leads for significant investments.
- Business Associates or Family Members
One of the known ways of concealing assets is to keep these in the custody of some close family members, trusted business associates, or even relatives for some time until the spotlight goes off. Surveillance helps to track these possible sources of concealing assets, and investigators can make considerable progress in investigations. The action allows parties mask their natural assets and lower their net worth until they feel the storm has blown away.
- Overseas assets
Parking these overseas is a commonly used method by unscrupulous persons to hide assets. Although overseas banking records might be inaccessible to investigators for legal reasons, they can still access banking records related to boats and real property. In some cases, income tax records might be publicly accessible.
Without comprehensive ways to search for overseas assets, knowing the specific countries with which the party may have links can help locate overseas investments.