As efforts to freeze the assets of Russian individuals under sanctions have made headlines, we wished to reflect on the operational difficulties caused by the complexity and opacity of the holding structures set up by their advisors.

SFC Founder Yannick Poivey comments on Russian oligarchs moving money offshore in a ACAMS – moneylaundering.com article.

Creditors sometimes fight the wrong battle: they focus recovery action on the tip of the iceberg, because the debtor has made arrangements to divulge only a minor part of their assets and business interests.

Il y a toujours des dossiers plus urgents à gérer, mais il faut tout de même se méfier des comptes qui dorment. Les relationship managers en banque privée y sont confrontés épisodiquement. A l’exemple du client étranger, souvent âgé, qui depuis des années ne répond plus aux courriers.

Quite often, external investigations remain strictly external and do not draw on the wealth of information available within the client’s digital archives. Of course, it is understandable that clients may wish to share with the external investigator only the information that is strictly indispensable for kicking off the research.