Asset recovery is a process of confiscating the entire illegal asset that is, in most cases, the proceeds of crime. It involves ensuring the returns of these assets are surrendered to the legitimate owners.
The assets can be in the form of money and other items of value like precious metals, real estate, and investment shares. Virtual assets like crypto and luxury goods can also be part of assets. If the funds have been hidden or invested in the jurisdiction, asset recovery can be a domestic process.
The asset recovery process is complex but mainly involves four basic steps. The process includes verification of information, investigation, judicial proceedings, and disposal or return. In the disposal, the assets are surrendered to the rightful owner.
Why you should care about asset recovery
The first reason you should be more concerned about asset recovery is that assets belong to the general citizens. For instance, in Spain, most politicians have stolen a good share of public funds in less than four decades. Most of the money generated by efforts of the working-class is transformed into mansions, luxury cars, and oversea accounts for personal use and enjoyment.
When the money is returned by the offenders or those who steal from public coffers, it can be re-invested through social programs and infrastructure development. Most countries have managed to go through asset recovery and invest in anti-poverty projects to uplift the livelihoods of their citizens. Nigeria and Peru are some countries that have succeeded in doing this to improve livelihood and curb corruption.
It would help if you cared about asset recovery because it can prevent the theft of public money and the return of stolen assets. Asset recovery cases keep increasing significantly in countries like Tunisia, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan.
The components of Asset Recovery
Depending on your assets and whether you are recovering the assets from someone else or internally, you should get at least one of the below components of asset recovery to gain back your lost assets.
1 – Identification
It is important to identify your unused or unpaid assets, whether in general accounting tax or business purposes. Failure to identify them may just be draining your accounting books in the business.
Assets in your business can be anything from buildings and land. If you want to ensure your assets are labeled properly before deciding whether to redeploy them or divest, you will need a proper plan.
2 – Redeployment
After properly identifying all your assets, you can now figure out what you will need to do to maximize the value of the assets in your company. Redeploying is one of the most effective methods to recover your assets.
3 – Disposition
If your business has assets that can be redeployed, there are many ways you can use them to recover them.
Disposition involves the many ways you can get rid of an asset, like scraping, donating, and selling to the highest bidder.
Final Thoughts
Most organizations can handle asset recovery internally. However, that is not always the case for most organizations. If you want help with asset recovery, you can hire experienced asset recovery solicitors to hold your hand.
If your business is facing embezzlement cases, matrimonial disputes, and bankruptcy proceedings, you can always count on asset recovery and civil fraud solicitors for help.
