Specialisms
The money passed through several countries before anyone noticed that something was wrong.
As soon as more than one legal system is touched, the decisive question shifts. It is then no longer whether a claim exists, but where it can be asserted, under which law it is assessed and whether a decision can be enforced where assets actually lie. These three questions regularly come apart.
Circumstances
Clarify the context
Evidence
Preserve documents
Deadlines
Explain any urgency
Approach
Discuss the next steps
Immediate steps
What needs to be clarified first
Even in the international case the immediate measures apply unchanged. In addition, every action can have effects in several states and should therefore be taken in an orderly way.
Stop payments and request a recall
Contact your bank immediately and expressly request the recall of the transfer as well as the involvement of the receiving bank abroad. Within the European payment area there are established channels for this, which are however bound to time limits. Clarify these at once.
Make no further payments
That applies in particular to demands for taxes, fees or unlocks that are justified by the foreign connection. A foreign connection is a preferred argument for follow-up demands, because it makes checks more difficult for those affected.
Document all connecting factors
Record which state is touched and how: domicile, conclusion of the contract, place of performance, payment channel, seat of the other side, location of the website. This listing later decides jurisdiction and applicable law and can only be reconstructed with difficulty afterwards.
Secure contracts and clauses in full
Secure the contract text, the general terms and conditions in the version that applied at the time of conclusion, and confirmation e-mails. Choice-of-law, jurisdiction and arbitration clauses determine the further path and are subsequently altered on websites.
Have the order examined before sending a demand letter
An early demand on the other side can lead to assets being moved before protective measures have been applied for. Whether one first secures, files a complaint or writes should therefore be decided before the first step.
File a complaint in the right place
A complaint is regularly possible where you are resident, even if the other side is seated abroad. Proceedings in several states can be brought together; payment data and domain details are of particular value for this.
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Why cross-border cases take a different course
The typical constellation is constructed inconspicuously: the injured person is in one state, the recipient account is in a second, the company is registered in a third, the server stands in a fourth, and the acting persons are reachable in none of them. This distribution is not chance, but part of the construction. It ensures that every individual measure must take place in a different proceeding with different prerequisites and different time limits.
Legally, three levels must be kept apart that are frequently mixed. International jurisdiction decides which court may decide at all; within the European Union there is a uniform set of rules for this, which, alongside the seat of the other side, can open special places of jurisdiction, for example at the place of the harmful event or at a consumer’s domicile. To be distinguished from this is the applicable law, which is determined by its own rules. And to be distinguished again from that is enforcement, which takes place where assets lie.
In practical terms this means that the order of the steps is more important than their number. A demand letter sent too early can set assets in motion before they are secured. Proceedings in one’s own country can be formally successful and still lead nowhere if nothing is available in the enforcement state. That is why the first question is where tangible assets lie – and only then the question of which proceeding leads there.
Recognising the signs
How a cross-border connection becomes recognisable
Frequently the international connection is already built into the contract or the payment voucher, but is noticed only when a dispute arises. The following points are a reason to clarify the jurisdiction question before any further step.
- The recipient’s IBAN begins with a different country code from the seat of the contracting partner.
- The invoice names a company in one state; the correspondence comes from another.
- The contract contains a choice of law, but no agreement on the place of jurisdiction – or vice versa.
- Payments were made to changing accounts in different countries, in some cases to individuals rather than to the company.
- The website is in your language, but the legal notice refers to a seat outside Europe.
- An alleged supervisory authority or licence is named whose register does not list the provider.
- A title already obtained cannot readily be enforced in the state of the other side.
Possible measures
Possible measures
We work from our locations in Zurich and London and involve locally admitted professionals in the states concerned. Representation before the courts is in each case assumed by them; our role is coordination and a fixed point of contact for you.
Classification of jurisdiction and applicable law
We examine which forum may be open and under which law the facts would have to be assessed. A choice of law in the contract does not end this examination: in consumer contracts and in certain constellations, protective provisions remain applicable.
Locating assets
Before choosing the proceeding, we clarify where tangible assets lie. A title is only worth as much as the possibility of enforcing it in the state concerned; this order saves considerable costs in practice.
Provisional protective measures abroad
If assets are located, urgent applications for protective measures in the state concerned may come into consideration. Such applications are time-sensitive and are filed by locally admitted professionals, whose involvement we organise.
Information along the payment chain
A right to information against the payment service providers involved may come into consideration depending on the state and the facts. It serves to identify the recipient before a decision is taken on proceedings.
Recognition and enforcement of existing titles
Within the European Union, enforcement is in principle possible without a separate recognition procedure; outside it, it is governed by national law and existing agreements. We clarify in advance which path is viable in the target state.
Coordination of parallel proceedings
If proceedings are running in several states, we align order, content and timing so that they do not contradict one another. Uncoordinated parallel proceedings are one of the most frequent cost drivers in such mandates.
Prospects
How the prospects are to be assessed
Whether anything can be recovered depends here too on where the funds have flowed and who still holds them – only this question is spread across several legal systems with different possibilities of access. An account in a state with established cooperation is a different situation from a company in a state in which neither registers nor enforcement are reliable. Commitments as to the outcome are not possible in any of these constellations.
The time factor works in both directions. Recovery and securing are short-term; these paths close within days, in some cases hours. Proceedings across borders, by contrast, take time – service abroad, translations and the involvement of local professionals lengthen every step. Anyone who mixes the two loses the fast options while preparing the slow ones.
At the outset we name which states are affected, which steps may come into consideration there, where the typical delays lie and from which point the effort is no longer in proportion to the result that can be achieved. You receive this assessment before costs arise. The shared foundations are set out in the Fraud & Scam practice area.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions in cases with a foreign connection
The answers set out the framework. Which states are touched in your case and what follows from that emerges only from the facts.
Related specialisms
Patterns that often overlap
Fraud rarely follows just one pattern. If your case only partly matches, related specialisms may help you understand the connections.
Investment Fraud
Dubious return promises, trading portals and participation models – payment routes, information requests and possible claims.
Find out moreCrypto fraud
Wallet access, exit scams and trading platforms that do not pay out – tracing, information requests and the limits of enforcement.
Find out moreOnline fraud
Fake shops, manipulated payment pages and fraudulent platforms – chargeback, evidence preservation and opposing parties.
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Related information
Related information
- Fraud and scamsWhen fraud is suspected, payment routes, correspondence and timing are important starting points.
- Recognising signs of fraudUrgency, secrecy and extra payments before a promised withdrawal are recurring warning signs. A single feature does not replace examination of the facts.
- Fraud patterns at a glanceForged invoices, fabricated relationships and manipulated investment platforms follow different patterns. Explore how they work and possible next steps.
- Contact usDescribe your matter in a few sentences. Include only what is needed for the initial contact. Documents can be requested later through a suitable channel.
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An enquiry does not establish a client relationship or responsibility for monitoring deadlines. If a deadline is approaching, do not rely on this form alone.
- General information. The legal assessment depends on the circumstances of each case.