Summary
1. Introduction: Fighting Back Against Fraud in Singapore
Fraud and scams are a growing problem in Singapore, causing not just financial ruin but also deep emotional distress for individuals and businesses. The numbers are stark: in 2024, Singapore saw over 51,501 scam cases, with a staggering $1.1 billion lost – a 70.6% jump from the previous year. This trend continued into 2025, with over $313.7 million lost by May (see article here).
While our police, like the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom), do incredible work, recovering about $182 million in 2024, this is only a fraction of the total stolen funds. This gap highlights a crucial point: relying solely on police action, while vital for freezing initial assets, often isn't enough for full asset recovery. That's where civil litigation comes in. Victims often need an experienced singapore law firm to pursue their claims and get back what's rightfully theirs, beyond what criminal investigations can achieve.
Triangle Legal LLC is a leading law firm in Singapore, uniquely equipped to help you fight fraud and recover your assets. Today's criminals use sophisticated methods, moving money across borders and into digital assets like cryptocurrency with just a click. This complexity means you need more than general legal advice. You need a law firm with specialized expertise in fraud investigation, asset tracing (including digital assets), and cross-border litigation. Contact us today for a complimentary and confidential discussion about your case.
In fraud cases, every second counts. Acting fast is key to stopping assets from disappearing and significantly boosting your chances of successful asset recovery.
2. Your Path to Justice: Civil Litigation for Fraud and Asset Recovery
When you've been a victim of fraud or scam, civil litigation often offers the most direct and effective way to get your money back and seek compensation. Unlike criminal cases, which are led by the state and focus on punishment, civil litigation puts you, the victim, in control, with the clear goal of recovering your financial losses. While police efforts can freeze accounts and recover some funds, they only scratch the surface of total losses. This makes civil litigation a powerful, victim-focused approach to recouping your losses.
To start formal proceedings under the Rules of Court 2021, you typically issue a Originating Claim, which outlines your claim, and serve it to the defendant. The case then moves through stages of exchanging evidence and preparing for trial. Sometimes, you can even get a judgment without a full trial. For example, if the defendant doesn't respond or file a defense on time, you can secure a default judgment. Or, if their defense is clearly weak, you can seek a summary judgment based on evidence, speeding up the process.
Singapore's laws also offer crucial support for fraud claims, especially regarding time limits. Generally, contract and tort claims have a six-year limitation period. However, for fraud, the Limitation Act provides that this period often doesn't start until you discover the fraud, or could have reasonably discovered it. This "discovery rule" is vital for fraud victims, as it can extend the window for bringing a claim, recognizing that fraudulent schemes are often hidden for a long time.
3. Powerful Legal Tools for Asset Recovery
Successful asset recovery in fraud cases relies on using strong legal tools available under Singapore law. These tools help us find, protect, and ultimately reclaim your stolen funds and assets.
A. Freezing Orders: The Power of the Mareva Injunction
One of the most effective tools in fraud and asset recovery litigation is the freezing order, commonly known as a Mareva injunction. This court order temporarily freezes a defendant's assets while legal proceedings are ongoing. It stops them from selling or moving assets, ensuring that if you win your lawsuit, there's something left to recover.
To get a Mareva injunction in Singapore, you need to show you have a strong case and, crucially, a real risk that the defendant will try to hide or get rid of their assets to avoid paying up. The injunction can coverall of the defendant's assets, even those overseas, held in a trust, or jointly owned. The court will usually require the defendant to provide a full list of their assets, their value, and location. While assets are frozen, the defendant is typically allowed to spend a reasonable amount for living expenses and legal fees, provided they disclose where the money comes from.
The Mareva injunction is powerful because it's enforceable. Ignoring such a court order can lead to serious consequences, including contempt of court, which can mean fines or even up to three years in prison. This ensures the injunction has real teeth. Speed is essential: if you suspect fraud, acting quickly to get an injunction is paramount to prevent assets from disappearing. Singapore courts can even grant urgent injunctions on weekends or public holidays when immediate action is needed.
In our interconnected world, Mareva injunctions are vital for cross-border disputes. Singapore courts can issue "freestanding Mareva injunctions" to support foreign legal proceedings, even if the case isn't directly in Singapore. This makes Singapore an attractive place for victims to protect assets located here, even if their main litigation is elsewhere. However, if the defendant is abroad, enforcing the order can be tricky, often requiring similar injunctions in those foreign countries.
B. Proving Fraudulent Misrepresentation and the Tort of Deceit
Many fraud lawsuits hinge on proving fraudulent misrepresentation or the tort of deceit. These legal grounds are essential for victims to reclaim funds lost due to deliberate lies. Fraudulent misrepresentation is all about deceit – when a false statement tricks someone into a contract or action, leading to loss. To prove fraudulent misrepresentation or the tort of deceit, you need to show.
i) A false statement of fact was made.
ii) The defendant knew it was false, or didn't care if it was true.
iii) They intended for you to rely on that false statement.
iv) You suffered a loss because you relied on it.
These legal concepts are incredibly important in civil litigation. They provide the basis for recovering money in scams that rely on psychological manipulation, like love scams, where victims are tricked into "self-effected transfers". Even if you willingly transferred money, it was a direct result of the scammer's fraudulent misrepresentation and deceit, giving you a strong legal claim for asset recovery. Singapore's Misrepresentation Act 1967 also allows for damages if negligent misrepresentation is proven. If fraudulent misrepresentation is proven, the court can void the contract and award damages for your losses.
C. Tracing and Proprietary Claims
Tracing is a critical process in asset recovery, especially when your stolen property has been mixed with other funds. It's not a claim itself, but a way to identify where your money went and prove that those funds still belong to you.
Fraud victims can often make a proprietary claim for their stolen funds or property and seek a constructive trust. This trust gives you priority over other creditors if the fraudster goes bankrupt and helps in tracing and following the fraud proceeds. If the stolen money was invested and grew, you can trace it into that investment and claim its full value.
Tracing is vital in complex fraud schemes where criminals try to hide their tracks by mixing illicit funds. Singapore courts have specific rules for distributing these mixed funds, often favoring the victim.
D. Disclosure Orders and Evidence Preservation
Effective asset recovery heavily depends on gathering information and protecting evidence. We can seek various disclosure orders to identify assets and the people behind the fraud. Alongside a freezing injunction, a disclosure order can force the defendant to reveal all their assets. If they don't comply, they could face contempt of court.
To prevent the destruction of crucial evidence, a search order (also known as an "Anton Piller order") can be granted. This allows entry to premises to search for and seize relevant documents. These orders are usually sought urgently and without notice, requiring a very strong initial case and clear evidence that evidence might be destroyed.
Crucially, we can also seek disclosure from third parties, like banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, even before or during a lawsuit. In fraud and asset tracing cases, pre-action disclosure orders are often used to identify wrongdoers or trace stolen funds. These orders can compel financial institutions to share confidential customer information, despite banking secrecy laws, under specific exceptions. The Singapore High Court has confirmed that cryptocurrencies are property and can be subject to freezing injunctions against unknown defendants, along with disclosure orders against exchanges for tracing purposes. These tools are indispensable for gathering the information needed for effective asset recovery.
4. The Essential Role of a Commercial Lawyer in Fraud and Asset Recovery
Dealing with fraud and asset recovery isn't just about knowing the law; it demands the specialized expertise of a commercial lawyer with deep industry knowledge and a proven track record. Law firms like Triangle Legal LLC offer comprehensive legal support, from strategic advice and investigation to asset recovery, ensuring that those who commit fraud are held accountable.
Expertise truly matters in fraud cases, as criminals use sophisticated financial tricks and operate across borders. A specialized law firm can spot complex fraud schemes, trace hidden assets, and use extensive networks to recover stolen funds, no matter where they are. This includes advising on complex, high-value, cross-border fraud and asset tracing matters like cyber fraud, accounting fraud, misrepresentation, love scams, and money laundering.
A complete approach to fraud and asset recovery goes beyond just litigation. Expert commercial lawyers help clients develop and implement fraud investigation strategies, using legal tools to seek justice and asset recovery, and initiating recovery proceedings in relevant countries. This involves securing court orders to compel third parties to disclose information about stolen assets and freezing key assets to prevent them from being liquidated or hidden further. The value of a proactive legal partner is clear in their ability to provide immediate help as soon as fraud is discovered, securing urgent protective injunctions and freezing orders to stop assets from disappearing.
Given that many scams are transnational, cross-border capabilities are essential. Law firms with a global reach and access to specialists – including forensic accountants, computer experts, and investigators in multiple countries – can create tailored international strategies and provide a fast, coordinated global legal response to complex fraud. This allows the firm to launch and coordinate simultaneous actions across various jurisdictions to trace, identify, and recover assets.
Beyond asset recovery, a commercial lawyer also plays avital role in crisis management and protecting your reputation. Fraud incidents can severely damage a victimized entity's reputation and create institutional risks. Expert lawyers help manage and reduce these risks, implementing effective countermeasures and advising on reporting and communication requirements, often working with public relations specialists to manage information. This comprehensive support covers various crisis situations, from corporate fraud to love scams to financial market collapses.
5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is asset recovery and why is civil litigation important for it?
A1: Asset recovery means finding, tracing, freezing, and getting back money or property lost to fraud or scams. While police focus on catching criminals, civil litigation lets victims directly pursue financial compensation and take control of the recovery process, often leading to more complete financial recovery than criminal cases alone.
Q2: What is a Mareva injunction and how does it help in fraud cases?
A2: A Mareva injunction is a powerful court order that freezes a defendant's assets, stopping them from being moved or hidden during a lawsuit. This is vital in fraud cases to ensure that if you win your case, there are still assets available to pay your claim, greatly improving your chances of successful asset recovery.
Q3: How does Singaporean law address love scams?
A3: Love scams are a type of fraud that uses psychological manipulation and deceit. While police investigate these crimes, victims can pursue civil litigation by proving fraudulent misrepresentation or the tort of deceit. This allows them to seek financial compensation for losses caused by the scammer's deceptive actions, even if the victim willingly transferred the funds. See here for a case our lawyer participated in.
Q4: What is the tort of deceit or fraudulent misrepresentation?
A4: The tort of deceit or fraudulent misrepresentation happens when someone makes a false statement, knowing it's untrue (or being reckless about its truth), intending for another person to act on it, and that person suffers a loss as a result. Proving these elements in civil litigation is fundamental to recovering assets from fraudsters who used deception to get money.
Q5: Why should I engage a commercial lawyer for fraud and asset recovery?
A5: Fraud and asset recovery cases are often complex,involving international elements, digital assets, and sophisticated schemes. Aspecialized commercial lawyer has the expertise in litigation, asset tracing,and international legal tools to effectively handle these challenges, secureurgent freezing orders, and pursue comprehensive recovery strategies that gobeyond what general legal help can provide.
Reclaiming What's Yours with TriangleLegal LLC
The rising tide of fraud and scams in Singapore is a serious threat, with increasing cases and massive financial losses affecting everyone. While law enforcement is crucial, the significant gap in asset recovery through criminal proceedings alone highlights the absolute need for civil litigation to achieve full financial recovery. The ever-evolving sophistication of fraudulent schemes, especially those involving cross-border elements and digital assets, demands highly specialized legal expertise.
Triangle Legal LLC is ready to be your dedicated legal partner in this fight. Our expertise in civil litigation, the strategic use of Mareva injunctions to protect assets, and our ability to prove fraudulent misrepresentation and the tort of deceit are critical for successful asset recovery. With a deep understanding of asset tracing and the effective use of disclosure orders, Triangle Legal LLC is equipped to handle even the most complex fraud cases. Our commercial lawyers offer a holistic and proactive approach, combining legal knowledge with cross-border capabilities and crisis management strategies to protect your interests.
When fraud strikes, swift and decisive legal action is paramount. Don't let fraudsters keep what's rightfully yours. Contact TriangleLegal LLC today to discuss your options and start the process of reclaiming your assets.
