Investing abroad can offer great opportunities but also comes with significant risks. When a private investor faced challenges recovering assets from a business in Africa, GSI Associates was brought in to investigate and uncover the truth.
Type of business: Investment in a business in Africa
Our client: Private Investor
GSI Associates’ services:
- Documents investigation
- Tracing main characters involved in business
- Asset tracing
The problem
Our client had invested in a business in Africa and acquired stock for export, but:
- Customs issues: The stock could not be released for export.
- Unclear ownership: There was uncertainty about the title to the assets.
- Suspicious activity: Key contacts and facilitators appeared to act against the client’s interests.
- Ongoing costs: Despite no progress, costs continued to rise.
An on-site employee had failed to resolve the situation, thus the investment stopped.
How GSI Associates solved it
GSI deployed two personnel from our intelligence team to South Africa. They met with the key contacts and investigated their activities. They found those activities to be suspicious and replicated across many of their “clients”.
Tracing the assets involved travel to locations considered hostile. An armed, covert operation was expedited, which resulted in evidence of fraud, theft and money laundering being presented to the Serious Organised Crime police department, with possible prosecutions across the border back to Europe. Potential recovery of stolen assets is possible, but the probability is low.
The outcome
- Uncovered fraud: GSI revealed a network of fraudulent activity targeting multiple investors.
- Legal action: Evidence was provided to authorities for possible cross-border prosecutions.
- Client protection: The client avoided further losses by ceasing all dealings with suspicious contacts.
Why choose GSI Associates?
GSI Associates specialises in uncovering complex fraud and tracing assets worldwide. Whether it is conducting covert operations or working with authorities, we provide clients with the insights they need to make informed decisions and protect their investments.
If you are facing challenges with investments or asset recovery, contact us today.