Industry – International trading group
Territory – Netherlands, Dutch Antilles, UK, France, USA
Client – A liquidator of an international trading group (“the Group”) that collapsed and left unpaid debts of approx. $230,000,000.
Case – The client engaged A. Yakim in order to conduct a fraud examination into the Group’s commercial and financial activities.
Actions and Results – A team of experts from A. Yakim, including Certified Fraud Examiners, forensic accountants, competitive intelligence experts and economists conducted a cross-border fraud examination that required intensive field-work in the Netherlands, Dutch Antilles, UK, USA and France. The team analyzed the Group’s businesses since date of inception until winding-up. Financial and accounting records, large numbers of documents and electronic data were systematically gathered and analyzed. Along- side, we used sophisticated competitive intelligence systems that enabled us to uncover valuable information from which important conclusion were drawn, providing insights, beyond the ones received from the analysis of the company’s books and accounts. Intermediary results had been constantly reported to the liquidator, enabling immediate reactions to issues of great importance and developments that occurred during the liquidation process. Overall fraud examination findings, revealed the following:
- The Group was formed in order to serve as a vehicle for laundering monies that were transferred to non-related businesses.
- Legal and tax advisors took active part in establishing the Group’s companies, based on false presentations.
- The Group’s holding company was listed in Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The prospectus included false and misleading information. Later, the Group’s shareholders conspired together with market makers in order to manipulate the share price and artificially create large trade volume.
- The Group was active for a period of 10 years, during which it achieved at a peak, annual turnover of approx. $450 million.
- The Group’s executives used accounting loopholes and poor financial reporting and control to report inflated income, inflated cash-flow and assets values while leaving out liabilities off the books.
- The Group’s executives applied pressure on the Group’s accounting firm to ignore various “red lights” that were discovered during audits.
- American and European banks provided the Group with credit lines. Collaterals that were provided to the banks were found out as worthless.
Outcome – Based on the findings, we assisted the liquidator, with the following:
- Litigation support that included preparation of lawsuits, in multiple jurisdictions, against the Group’s shareholders, executives, accountants and legal advisors. The Courts’ findings were consistent with A. Yakim’s fraud examination results.
- Reporting the results of our fraud examination to relevant authorities and regulators.
- Negotiations with the banks and other debtors.
- Tracing and liquidating the Group’s assets.
- Winding-up the Group’s companies in the Netherlands, Dutch Antilles, UK, USA and France.