The Bennett Jones Fraud Law Group has extensive experience providing strategic, results-oriented advice on the full spectrum of issues arising from economic crimes.
Economic crimes threaten significant financial harm to both individuals and businesses. This threat expands as commerce and crime take on more technical and international aspects. There are additional layers of complexity for investigating and recovering funds cost-effectively, and new standards to minimize the risks of fraud, money laundering and other financial misconduct.
Bennett Jones is here to help. Our Fraud Law Group has extensive experience responding to all manner of economic crimes. We stand ready to investigate and stop asset misappropriation, trace and freeze assets, implement loss-mitigation strategies and pursue comprehensive recovery, including through the courts, to achieve our clients’ goals. We also regularly enforce foreign judgments and arbitral awards, advise on compliance with anti-money laundering laws, regulations and best practices, and strategize in response to corruption, "white collar" or other regulatory proceedings.
To best serve clients, our Fraud Law Group has local expertise and broad international reach spanning all business sectors. We have made crucial contacts and forged long-standing relationships with law enforcement, private investigators, forensic consultants and external auditors. This deep network is used on demand to ensure that our clients benefit from cutting-edge strategies and technologies, and can access trusted expertise in jurisdictions where their specific needs must be met.
Our Fraud Law Group also benefits from its place within Bennett Jones, a large, multi-service firm with well-integrated practice groups equipped to address the full range of legal issues that may follow economic crimes. The breadth of the firm's practice—everything from securities, real estate, corruption, restructuring and insolvency and tax, to employment, data protection and cybercrime—allows for the quick assembly of an effective, multidisciplinary team ready to take action when fraud or other financial misconduct surfaces.
Areas of Expertise
- Investigations and Asset Tracing: Undertaking comprehensive fraud investigations, witness and suspect examinations, and asset tracing across Canada and around the world. We access financial disclosure through court processes (Norwich Pharmacal and Anton Piller orders), use relevant insolvency regimes, and work with investigators, auditors, receivers, trustees and special committees to advance clients’ investigative and tracing goals.
- Asset Freezing and Preservation: Obtaining court orders to freeze and preserve assets for ultimate recovery. To avoid further misconduct, we employ Mareva injunctions, certificates of pending litigation, other injunctive remedies and insolvency and related proceedings. At times, extra-judicial processes and strategies can maximize potential recoveries.
- Asset Recovery Claims: Pursuing and coordinating asset-recovery claims in Canada and abroad created by all manner of economic crimes—commercial fraud, Ponzi schemes, investment and securities fraud, employee theft, frauds committed through or against financial institutions or other professional advisors, and other misconduct addressed by court-appointed insolvency practitioners. Coordinating with overseas counsel to develop comprehensive international approaches to forum and choice-of-law issues.
- Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Awards: Pursuing applications to enforce foreign judgments or arbitral awards in Canada, and leading efforts to enforce Canadian judgments and arbitral awards abroad, as well as associated disputes regarding the appropriate forum for claims and international arbitrations.
- Anti-Money Laundering: Advising on compliance with anti-money laundering laws, regulations and best practices, including potential Canadian legal issues arising from foreign and domestic business affairs, and implementing policies and procedures to minimize money-laundering risks. Counseling on claims related to alleged breaches of anti-money laundering rules resulting in losses.
- Corruption, White-Collar Defence and Regulatory: Responding to investigations, probes and proceedings relating to alleged corruption, including working in concert with US and UK lawyers on matters of alleged cross-border corruption of foreign officials involving the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission and Serious Fraud Office. Responding to white-collar crimes or other regulatory matters, including by ensuring the preservation of legal privilege, managing reputational risk and undertaking all aspects of required internal investigations.
- Data Protection and Cybercrime: Advising on data protection, privacy and cybersecurity matters such as regulatory compliance, cyber preparedness and breach response, as well as litigation and investigations following data breaches and other cybercrimes.
Group Members' Credentials and Memberships
- International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators (Co-founder)
- International Fraud Group
- Chambers Canada – White Collar Crime & Government Investigations
- Chambers: Litigation Support – Asset Tracing & Recovery
- Who's Who Legal: Asset Recovery (Thought Leaders Global Elite)
- Who’s Who Legal: Litigation (Thought Leaders – Litigation)
- Expert Guides – White Collar Crime, Canada
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory – Litigation – Corporate Commercial
- Association of Certified Forensic Investigators