Your lawyer in Amsterdam! For inheritance law, damage and liability, fraud, family law, investment fraud, employment law and banking law.

Asset Recovery

Turning point in bank fraud case law?

Victims of bank fraud who lose their money due to unauthorized payment transactions often face an uphill battle against banks. Evidence is often lacking about how fraudsters authorized the payments, which reduces the likelihood of a successful lawsuit. Past challenges In the past, it was difficult for victims to win their case, especially if they could not prove how the payments were authorized. Judges require victims to explain exactly how the fraud was carried out [...]

Recovering stolen crypto: the final steps

In our previous blogs, we outlined how stolen or fraudulently misappropriated cryptocurrency can be traced using blockchaintracing. We showed how we successfully obtained multiple "freezing orders" from Dutch courts in 2023 and 2024. A high-profile example was the case against Huobi in 2023, in which the court imposed a fine of as much as €2,000,000 to ensure that the account of the fraudulent customer was actually frozen. In summary proceedings, we ask not only for [...]

Cryptoexchange Kraken must make full disclosure about fraud

As a specialized firm in crypto fraud cases, we regularly see how victims struggle to recover their stolen digital assets. Although we have explained in previous blogs how accounts at cryptoexchanges can be frozen via a Dutch court order, even at foreign exchanges, this measure sometimes comes too late. Fraudsters have sometimes been able to clear accounts before any action can be taken. Every case is a race against the clock. An additional problem is [...]

Blockchaintracing has come of age and helps with crypto fraud

Blockchain tracing has become an essential tool in the fight against crypto fraud in the past 2 years, especially when stolen funds are funneled through blockchain networks. The transparency of the blockchain allows experts to track fraudulent transactions, even if they go through multiple addresses or complex routes. This creates legal opportunities to secure the stolen digital assets and crack down on fraudsters. Detection of exchanges and KYC data. Blockchaintracing can link specific blockchain addresses [...]

The money mule: victim or accomplice?

A recent court case has again highlighted the complex role of the so-called "money mule" in fraud cases. Geldezel argued a defense in the proceedings. What is a money mule? A money mule is someone who makes their bank account available to criminals to channel stolen money. This is often done under the guise of a lucrative side income or under pressure from the criminals. The money mule receives money in his account from a [...]

Applicable law in international investment fraud: preferably Dutch

International cases present specific challenges, particularly in the area of applicable law. A recent ruling shows how the legal system deals with these challenges. When victims of investment fraud live abroad, while the recipient of the funds is based in the Netherlands, the question arises as to which law applies. The law of the victim's country of residence (in this case, the United Kingdom) is then the main rule under private international law because the [...]

Domestic cryptoexchanges: conservatory attachment or injunctive freezing order?

When recovering stolen cryptocurrency or establishing recourse to crypto that is nothing more than a new guise of stolen bank assets after fraud, speed is of the essence. It is therefore crucial to have adequate legal tools in place to secure assets. An important question here is: can you impose a regular conservatory attachment on a Dutch cryptoexchange such as Bitvavo, or do you have to rely on a 'freezing order' through the summary proceedings [...]

Margin calls and swaps in CFDs (contracts for differences)

Those who start investing through a CFD broker often face "margin calls," or obligations to add money, which increase the risks of this form of investing. Margin calls and swaps (charges over holding positions) can cause these investments to evaporate. What are CFDs? Contracts for Differences are not stocks but derivative, indirect investment products. The investor and the counterparty enter into a temporary contract speculating on a price decline or conversely a price increase in [...]

Duty of care to third parties: who must prove?

A recent ruling by the interim relief judge of the Amsterdam District Court provided an interesting decision on the issue of proof regarding banks' duty of care to third parties in fraud cases. The case involved an American woman, a client of our firm, who had been the victim of a hack in which €200,000 had been transferred to the account of a money mule with an account at ING. Although the main claim was [...]

Fraud and scams with a Dutch bank account, what to do?

International fraud with fake websites, billing fraud, investment fraud and other scams where fraudsters elicit payment on an incorrect bank account number with victims living in other countries is unfortunately common. Our firm has handled dozens of such cases in recent years. In this blog, for victims who do not live in the Netherlands, we describe the options for recovering money if a Dutch bank account number is involved in the fraud. What types of [...]

Go to Top