Montax Inteligência & Busca de Bens: Montax Standout Case Studies

Versão em Português

Read Montax Intelligence´s case studies to find out how to manage it yourself or if we can help you.

Case study - Foreign trade, international "money laundering": Few businesses generates as much money as foreign trade such as international trade in agribusiness commodities like beef, corn and soy. We are not talking about vessels, but producers and intermediaries, people who guarantee that a large volume of seeds will reach the port on the combined day. Producers, cooperatives and intermediaries buy "crops" and receive in advance. Montax Intelligence has already investigated many of these cooperatives and foreign trade companies and found out that some simply "disappear" after winning the trust of foreign customers that are eager for Brazil's commodity. In one occasion a cooperative that had negotiated with China, Europe and the Middle East stopped delivering goods after receiving more than U$20 million. Montax identified that its controller had a factory that wouldn´t profit - where the money of foreign trade customers was located -, opened a fake foreign commerce company overseas and made investments in another partner company in the United States of America. It was enough to have an investigative due diligence or simple background checks of members to note that the controller, a former Protestant pastor with many court cases, had no good reputation. In addition to overseas business, Montax discovered real estate investments far from him but in locations where he had emotional links, an asset search and investigation premise that we explain in our secret briefing partially disposed in our the Intelligence Guide of Asset Searches & Investigation in Brazil.

Case study – Metallurgical in a state of insolvency: China "closed" many businesses in America, mainly in Brazil, where the business environment was no longer the best. The most affected sector was the Secondary Sector (manufactures and industry-base), and the most damaged industry was steel and metallurgy. With a client with approximately R$ 10 million in debts, Montax discovered that a metal materials factory was in a pre-bankruptcy stage since had more than R$ 150 million in debts. One of these debts dates back to the 90´s. Failure of counterintelligence compliance and corporate security has led the vendor to fail to deliver products without any guarantee of payment. Montax identified the extension, all companies of the economic group, especially the asset holding company registered on behalf of the controlling patriarch´s sons. This equity company houses many rural areas and lands in small country towns. The 2 business asset protection strategies of a) Third-party´s investments (figureheads) and b) investments far from controllers´ domicile or from headquarters by him controlled were dually used, but then identified by Montax´s Analysts.

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Case study - Retail at risk: Selling everything for everyone, especially Class C and D consumers, is a good business strategy, correct? Not in times of economic crisis. A creditor investment bank hired Montax Intelligence to identify asset holding companies and locate financial assets held by shareholders of one of Brazil's largest retail groups, currently undergoing business rescue proceedings. The creditor bank suspected that controllers concealed personal assets, rights and values from the roll of creditors in the judicial recovery process. Investors were right. Montax discovered 4 farms and 2 holding companies on behalf of third parties under the control of major shareholders prior to judicial reorganization to house realty, livestock (cattle) and another investment bank shares.

Case Study – A Clone Firm: A medical clinic with multiple leading service units with innovative marketing techniques but suspicious of corporate fraud. Montax Intelligence discovered that his administrator created identical companies, with identical corporate and trade names and were named after him and his wife to misappropriate consultation fees. The Intelligence Report and evidences accessed by Montax served as a basis for his fair dismissal, implementation of police investigation for larceny and precautionary measure of search and seizure of private criminal action, requirement of the article 524 and subsequent of the Criminal Code in cases of crimes against intangible property.

Case study – Fraudster client: A leading recycling company was contracted through e-mail by a smaller competitor to dispose of construction waste to obtain Certificates from environmental agencies. The service taker did not pay the invoice, and the environmental firm identified serious compliance failures. Montax discovered that client was in fact a gang of fraudsters. Their leader and other members were identified, as well as the scheme of asset shielding and "money laundering" in real estate purchase through Powers of attorney for real estate transactions and property sale deeds on behalf of the wife and were not notarized in the Registry Office.

Before you close deals online, make sure that people and organizations De facto exist and which are their operations in the offline universe.

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Case study - Controller shareholder ´s conflict of interests: Controller shareholder usually wants the best for the company, right? Not always. Montax Intelligence was hired by the minority shareholders to get evidence of the abuse of power from the Controller. Suspicious accounting records indicated assets stripping by "ghost" companies services. Montax conducted an external audit at the company´s headquarters and discovered that they simply did not exist and obtained evidence of the patrimonial and suspicious evolution of controller with goods both in Brazil and abroad and the establishment of a rival company, at the same time of the net income “declination" and of shareholders participation. The controller improperly appropriated intangible assets such as organization, projects, know-how, skilled labor, computerized systems and briefings of marketing and listing of clients to favor a company that was part of the economic group, hidden from the minority shareholders.

Case Study - Asset Searches Abroad: A South Korean multinational manufacturer of electronic equipment did not receive million-dollar bills for the sale of pieces and components for a national distributor. China with its cheap labor and highly competitive prices put to an end the Brazilian industry, beginning with the electronics market. Bankrupt, company´s controller could not pay suppliers. In fact, he did not want to and maintained the same luxury and ostentation standard. Montax was hired to do what we do best, Asset Searches & Investigations and anti-money laundering actions. Several properties of controller were identified and a listing with more than 30 offshore companies in the Bahamas tax haven, Cayman Islands, British Islands and in the State of Delaware (USA), allowing a debt discharge agreement.

Investment funds can house values of individuals with high levels of insolvency.

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Case Study - Conflict of Interest II: A leading company in the chemical industry hired Montax for Intelligence, Search & Investigation services after abandonment of employment by its Commercial Director. Montax identified corporate fraud consisting of trade secret theft (in this case, list of customers) and the company that former employee started in an unfair competition. During research, Montax unintentionally identified a conflict of interest (COI) of the trademark and patent registration consulting firm. This company provided similar services to competing companies, however, without communicating the relevant fact, because they promoted the registration of identical brand of similar products for competing companies (!).

Case Study - Bid Rigging: An information technology company was unfairly accused of unfair competition by the public bidding participant to sabotage their business with the government. They battled back by hiring Montax to survey owner´s background and their vulnerabilities. Montax discovered that adversary partners had infringed the Law by creating a successor company in third parties name ("figureheads") to escape the National Registry of Inapt Companies of the Controller General of Brazil. The members also collected debts and Montax accessed evidence of money laundering and concealment of assets by means of a Bank Credit Certificate (CCB) used to avoid the tracking and blocking of amounts by the BACEN-Jud system of online attachment.

Case study – Inherited Citizenship: A Brazilian residing more than 10 years in Italy found it difficult to prove his European (Portuguese) descendants because he did not find documents of the grandfather, a Portuguese that immigrated to Brazil in the 1940´s. Without any proof and despite living for such a long time in Europe, the Brazilian could not get the citizenship. He hired Montax's research and obtained certified personal documents from the grandfather allowing him to obtain European citizenship. Montax consulted registry offices in Portugal; Archdioceses of Brazil; Civil and cultural associations until finally accessed the files of foreigners Registration with certified copy of the granfather´s old Portuguese passport. The Brazilian relied on Montax and achieved Portuguese citizenship and now lives in Europe with the status of an European citizen.