CDR Essential Intelligence: Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the third edition of CDR Essential Intelligence: Fraud, Asset Tracing & Recovery. Peters & Peters Solicitors LLP has been delighted to serve again as the Contributing Editor to this comprehensive guide on the practice of global litigation in this critical sphere of work.
The past 12 months have seen a succession of highs and lows. High levels of vaccination in many parts of the world have led to some semblance of normality; low levels in other parts may have directly led to the introduction of further lockdowns across the world, as they provided a hotbed for variants. These swings and roundabouts have been reflected in the rise of fraudulent attacks, particularly through digital communications. The rapid growth of cyberattacks - a 62% increase in ransomware globally, and 158% in the US - has affected hospitals and government departments, and even led to queues for petrol. There are stark, real-world consequences from technology on the attack.
During the pandemic, our reliance on digital tools has been at an all-time high, connecting society across different platforms, and fraudsters have been quick to make use of the international mass migration online. Cyber-criminality is now one of the most prevalent issues to impact the legal sector. The surge in online commerce, the increasing reliance on artificial intelligence and the introduction of virtual justice are just some of the features that have become commonplace over the past year. The Law Society recently published a report on how the legal profession could be largely replaced by artificial intelligence by 2030; if this scenario is realised, it is up to us to move with the times and keep an eye on technological developments in machine learning, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence.
Nevertheless, in 2022, we have found opportunities to flourish and to meet these new challenges head-on. As a result, the fraud, asset tracing and recovery landscape has never been busier. In PwC's Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2020, over 5,000 respondents in up to 99 countries were interviewed and nearly 50% had been the victim of at least one fraud. Companies were found to have experienced an average of six incidents of fraud in the preceding 24 months, while losses due to fraud amounted to $42 billion globally.
The intention of this publication is to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the practice of fraud, asset tracing and recovery litigation in a number of countries around the world, working towards global innovation and best practice through the sharing of knowledge and expertise. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the tireless efforts of our contributing authors, who include some of the world's leading law firms, a wide range of expert practitioners, barristers' chambers and forensic accountants. Their generous contributions to this project have established an invaluable holistic picture of the international legal response to fraud and asset misappropriation, which we hope will be useful for our readers both now and in years to come.