Bernard Group AG conducts independent financial-crime investigations and supports clients confronted with fraud, blocked funds or disputes involving banks and counterparties. We establish facts, trace the movement of assets, identify fraudulent structures and prepare documented materials for banks, legal advisers and the competent authorities.
Our role is analytical and expert. We are not a law-enforcement authority, do not replace legal counsel and do not guarantee the recovery of funds; we establish and document the facts on the basis of which the client and its representatives take informed decisions and act through the proper legal channels.
Establishment of the circumstances and mechanics of a fraudulent scheme, identification of those involved and of the points at which funds were extracted.
Establishment of the reason for the blocking or retention of funds, analysis of the bank's requirements, preparation of documentation and support of the client in dealings with the financial institution. Any release of funds remains at the sole discretion of the bank, a court or a regulator.
Tracing the movement of funds and assets across jurisdictions, including through chains of accounts and corporate structures.
Tracing the movement of funds across blockchain addresses, identifying links between wallets and establishing fiat on- and off-ramps.
Examination of messages (MT103, MT199, MT700, MT760, MT799 and others) for conformity to ISO 15022 standards and analysis of the logic and authenticity of interbank correspondence.
Authentication of bank guarantees, standby and documentary letters of credit (SBLC, BG, LC) and verification of the existence of the issuing bank.
Establishment of ultimate beneficiaries, corporate history and register status; AML, KYC and sanctions screening.
Examination of the source of funds and source of wealth for substance and supporting evidence.
Identification of investment-fraud and advance-fee-fraud schemes, including fictitious prime-bank instruments; investigation of trade-finance schemes involving fictitious instruments, forged documents and non-existent shipments; and investigation of abuse within corporate structures, asset stripping and falsification of accounts.
Analytical and documentary support of the client in disputes involving financial institutions.
The investigation results in an independent expert report comprising the established facts, the results of asset and transaction tracing, the indicators of fraud identified and an assessment of risk. On request, a package of evidentiary materials is prepared, structured for submission to banks, lawyers and law-enforcement authorities. The report constitutes an independent factual assessment and does not constitute legal advice or a procedural document; its evidentiary use is undertaken by the client through the proper legal channels.
01 · Intake and identification. Definition of the subject of the investigation and its perimeter; client identification under AML / KYC standards.
02 · Data collection and analysis. Analysis of documents, transactions, instruments, corporate structures and blockchain data; checks against registers, sanctions and reputational sources.
03 · Asset tracing and reconstruction of the scheme. Tracing the movement of funds across accounts, jurisdictions and wallets; reconstruction of the mechanics of the scheme and identification of those involved.
04 · Expert report. Consolidation of findings into an independent report stating the established facts, the assessment and the accompanying evidentiary materials.
05 · Support. Coordination with banks, legal advisers and the competent authorities; support of the client through to resolution.
Work is conducted under Swiss law and AML / KYC standards. The establishment of beneficial owners and source-of-funds checks are carried out in accordance with the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA, SR 955.0); sanctions screening with regard to the Embargo Act (EmbG, SR 946.231) and applicable international regimes.
Identified conduct is assessed against the Swiss Criminal Code — in particular as regards fraud (Art. 146 SCC), forgery of documents (Art. 251 SCC) and money laundering (Art. 305bis SCC). Personal data is processed in accordance with the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, SR 235.1) and, where applicable, the GDPR. Investigation materials are provided to the client alone and held in strict confidence.