International Asset Tracing
The right information, from the right source, before the trail goes cold.
Locating and following assets across borders in support of enforcement — disclosure orders, examinations and coordinated investigation with foreign counsel.
Information first.
Then the assets.
ME Law acts for creditors, investors and companies who need to find assets that have been moved across borders — through corporate structures, nominees, intermediaries and digital-asset platforms — so that they can be frozen and recovered. We combine court-ordered disclosure, examinations of the debtor and coordinated investigation with forensic accountants, blockchain analysts and local counsel in each jurisdiction involved.
In tracing cases the problem is rarely legal uncertainty. It is information asymmetry: you know that value has gone, but not who holds it now, where it went, or which bank, platform or registry holds the records. The right disclosure order, against the right intermediary, at the right time, often decides whether a fraud can be traced and a judgment enforced.
- Disclosure orders against banks and intermediaries
- Examinations of the debtor
- Corporate and beneficial-ownership analysis
- Blockchain and digital-asset tracing
Information asymmetry, not legal uncertainty, defeats most recovery efforts. Tracing closes the gap.
The right information,
from the right source,
at the right time.
Tracing is not a fishing expedition. Courts grant disclosure that is targeted, necessary and proportionate — and the application that succeeds is the one that asks for precisely the records needed, from the intermediary that holds them, before the trail goes cold.
What is known, and what is missing
Transactions, counterparties and corporate structures, with public records — registries, filings, court and insolvency records — to map where value went and identify the gaps.
Who has the records
Banks, payment processors, exchanges, registrars, custodians and professional intermediaries: the third parties whose records can fill the gaps.
Court-ordered information
Norwich Pharmacal and similar orders against third parties mixed up in the wrongdoing, orders against banks to trace funds, and asset disclosure alongside freezing orders.
Coordinated proceedings
Parallel applications in the countries where the records and assets are, with local counsel — including US discovery for use in foreign court proceedings.
From information to recovery
Freezing orders, proprietary claims and enforcement against the assets once they are found.
Following assets
across borders.
Each source of information calls for a different application. Select a category to see the typical matters and the related services.
Bank & Financial Intermediary Disclosure
Disclosure orders against banks, brokers and payment processors to trace funds from account to account — often sought without notice, alongside freezing relief, so the account holder is not alerted.
- Bank disclosure orders
- Brokerage and custody records
- Payment-processor records
- Gagging provisions
Norwich Pharmacal & Third-Party Orders
Orders requiring a third party who has become involved in wrongdoing, even innocently, to disclose information that identifies the wrongdoer or traces assets — available in England and Wales and many other common-law jurisdictions.
- Identifying wrongdoers
- Pre-action disclosure
- Registrars and platforms
- Third parties’ compliance costs
Examinations of the Debtor
Post-judgment examinations and orders requiring the debtor — or a company’s officers — to provide information about assets, and asset-disclosure orders made with freezing injunctions.
- Post-judgment examinations
- Orders to obtain information
- Asset-disclosure affidavits
- Cross-examination on disclosure
Corporate & Beneficial-Ownership Analysis
Analysis of corporate structures, nominee arrangements, trusts and intercompany transfers to identify who controls value, as distinct from who holds title — the basis for claims against the real owners.
- Group structure mapping
- Nominees and trusts
- Intercompany transfers
- Beneficial-ownership registers
Digital Asset Tracing
Blockchain analysis with specialist investigators, disclosure orders against exchanges and custodians that hold identity and account records, and freezing relief over identified wallets and accounts.
- Blockchain analytics
- Exchange disclosure orders
- Wallet attribution
- Freezing identified accounts
US Discovery in Aid of Foreign Proceedings
Applications, through US counsel, for documents and testimony from persons in the United States for use in foreign court proceedings — available for court proceedings but, since 2022, not for private commercial arbitration.
- § 1782 applications
- US banks and correspondent accounts
- Subpoenas for documents and testimony
- Use in foreign court proceedings
How assets are traced
across borders.
Start with what can be lawfully known
Public sources go further than many expect: company registries, beneficial-ownership registers where they exist, land and security registries, court records, regulatory filings and insolvency records in each relevant country. They map structures and transactions, and show where court-ordered disclosure is needed — and where it is not.
Court-ordered disclosure
- Norwich Pharmacal orders. Named after the House of Lords’ decision in Norwich Pharmacal Co v Customs and Excise Commissioners, they require a third party who has become mixed up in wrongdoing — even innocently — to provide information identifying the wrongdoer or tracing assets. The applicant generally pays the third party’s reasonable costs of complying. They are granted in many common-law jurisdictions as targeted remedies, not as a licence to investigate at large.
- Orders against banks. Courts can order banks to disclose account records so that misappropriated funds can be traced, typically where the claimant asserts a proprietary claim to the money.
- Disclosure with freezing orders. A freezing order is usually accompanied by an order requiring the defendant to disclose its assets on oath, so that the order can be policed.
- Post-judgment examinations. A judgment creditor can usually require the debtor — or a company’s officers — to answer questions about its assets under oath; in England and Wales, under an order to obtain information (CPR Part 71).
US discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782
A US federal district court may order a person who resides or is found in its district to give testimony or produce documents for use in a proceeding before a foreign or international tribunal. In ZF Automotive US, Inc. v. Luxshare, Ltd. (2022), the US Supreme Court held that the statute reaches only governmental or intergovernmental adjudicative bodies: it is available for foreign court proceedings, but not for private commercial arbitration. Applications are made through US counsel.
Digital assets
Transactions on public blockchains can be followed with specialist analytics, and the exchanges that convert crypto-assets into money hold identity and account records. Disclosure orders against exchanges, followed quickly by freezing relief over the identified accounts, are often the decisive steps.
From tracing to recovery
Tracing is valuable only if it leads to preservation and enforcement: see asset recovery and freezing orders and cross-border enforcement.
When you know value has gone —
but not where.
We act for those whose recovery depends on information held by someone else — and for third parties facing disclosure applications that go too far.
Victims of Fraud & Misappropriation
Tracing diverted funds and identifying those responsible.
Judgment & Award Creditors
Finding the assets of debtors who have restructured or moved value.
Investors & Shareholders
Following value diverted from companies, funds and joint ventures.
Companies & Boards
Internal fraud and misconduct by insiders who moved assets abroad.
Banks, Platforms & Intermediaries
Responding to disclosure applications, and narrowing those that overreach.
The most effective disclosure order is rarely the broadest one. It is the one that reaches the right records first.
Trace assets
across borders.
If value has been moved and you need to know where, speak with senior counsel about the disclosure available, where to seek it and how quickly it can be done.
Consultations are held in person or by video, wherever you are. Describe the matter briefly — no confidential details are needed until a conflict check is complete.