Asset Recovery Handbook

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• moderately perishable assets, such as a field crop or farm animals that will lose value if they are not harvested or sold at an appropriate time (possibly within weeks or months); • depreciating assets, such as cars, boats, and electronic equipment that lose 15–30 percent of their value each year. In an ideal situation, confiscation laws have provisions that empower an asset manager to sell perishable or rapidly depreciating assets and place the proceeds in an interestbearing account supervised by either the asset manager or the court. Where such powers are not available or do not apply, it may be possible to request that a court exercise general discretionary powers to make appropriate orders relating to restrained assets. Consent of all parties is preferable, but the court should have authority to enter such orders even if contested. 5.4.8 Assets Located in Foreign Jurisdictions Assets may be restrained and seized by foreign jurisdictions through informal assistance (for example, through administrative avenues) and pursuant to a mutual legal assistance request (see section 4.2.3 of chapter 4 and chapter 7). When a restraint order is registered, enforcing it will be the responsibility of the authorities in the foreign jurisdiction. An asset manager may be appointed by the court in the foreign jurisdiction to achieve this. Generally, the asset managers in both jurisdictions will work together to maintain the assets. At the same time, it is wise to ensure that the asset manager in the requesting jurisdiction has additional powers to help enforce the foreign restraint order and manage the assets. Such powers would not grant the asset manager physical control over the assets in the requested jurisdiction; but they would permit the asset manager to hire contractors, lawyers, and other agents in the requested jurisdiction for the purpose of obtaining orders from the courts of the requested jurisdiction. There may be additional problems when dealing with foreign jurisdictions. The requested jurisdiction may not have the domestic authority or the operational ability to restrain or seize certain types of assets. For example, some jurisdictions refuse to seize or restrain live animals. Or the requested jurisdiction may not have an asset manager or funds dedicated to asset management. These issues can be resolved through discussions with the requested jurisdiction, although ultimately the requesting jurisdiction may have to provide funds to hire a manager to manage the assets in the requested jurisdiction.

5.5 Ongoing Management Issues 5.5.1 Expenses In optimal circumstances, an asset manager will have a reasonable mix of assets— income-generating, cash, capital, and depreciating assets—so that expenses can be paid Managing Assets Subject to Confiscation

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