FRAUD, ASSET TRACING AND RECOVERY: INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES
R&C: How would you characterise the threat of fraud currently facing companies around the world?
Tuddenham: The threat of fraud, and in particular international commercial fraud, is ever-present for companies doing business around the world. In addition to being ever-present, the threat is also increasing for those companies that are looking to build out into emerging and frontier markets. A disproportionately large share of the disputes and investigations which our teams handle have a nexus to such markets, including the MENA region, Russia/the CIS and India. These are all jurisdictions of key importance to businesses with genuinely global ambitions, but at the same time they are jurisdictions which present novel risks. The SFO’s investigations into Tata Steel and ENRC are two pertinent examples. Fraud is also a growing concern and for the increasing number of industry sectors and businesses that are particularly reliant upon data and cyber security for their successful operation, as international headlines of the past twelve months make clear.
van der Aa: The landscape that companies operate in is becoming increasingly complex. This complexity brings many challenges and opportunities, not just for companies but also for those who seek to defraud companies. The fraud schemes that we see in our practice are becoming more tailored, and are therefore more difficult to prevent using standard policies and detection mechanisms. Just as in any business, the distinction between the digital world and the real world is disappearing and fraud schemes increasingly involve aspects that would traditionally be characterised as cyber crime, as well as aspects that have more in common with traditional confidence schemes.
Oct-Dec 2017 Issue
Allen & Overy LLP
Fried Frank LLP (London)
Jenner & Block London LLP
Jones Day
Navigant