Criminal friend getting divorced Post Reply

[CriminalFriend]

Throwaway account for obvious reasons.

A friend of mine is in the process of trying to get a divorce.

The issue is that she is married to someone who is a crook. I don't mean in terms of violence but his entire business is not built on legal foundations. He holds most of his assets offshore, there is clear money laundering and shell companies and the like.

As such she is struggling to get legal advice.

Whenever she explains to a potential lawyer that his assets are off-shore and not declared the lawyers immediately say that if there is clear evidence of law breaking they can't take the case. When pressed as to how she might hypothetically deal with it their only answer is for him to declare everything to the HMRC and then when that is done an asset split can be sorted.

He is never going to do that, his entire business is based on extensive false identities and he is never going straight.

She has no money of her own.

Does anyone know what she can do?

She could report him but they share three children and she doesn't want to "send daddy to jail".

Also that wouldn't help her get a settlement.

I suspect she is between a rock and a hard place but I did promise I'd ask anonymously.

[Goldhawk]

Is she certain of his true identity?
What country are the off shore assets in?
Are they legally married?

What assets and businesses does he have in the UK?
How is he funding their life together?

What is stopping her getting a job?

[CriminalFriend]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes she is sure of identity, he is part of a large normal family and to all intents and purposes he has a normal job, it’s only when you get closer to realise that it’s not.

I don’t want to say where the assets are, however they’re not in his name.

He funds the lifestyle through the business, again I don’t want to go into specifics but it appears to be surprisingly easy to get money into the UK if you’re prepared to put the work in.

She has three young children and so needs funds to support a family home so working would be an issue.

[Pipkin]

What exactly does she want?

She won’t be able legally to get half of an illegal business as part of the divorce settlement. It is illegal and undeclared so it cannot be legally part of a settlement.

She needs to divorce and she will be entitled to half what he legally owns in the UK. If this is not enough for her to sustain her lifestyle she will need to work, as many people do.

Her only option would be to convince him to keep on paying bills at least for the kids using his source of illegal income but then she would always be dependent on his goodwill, with nothing written down.

Which I suspect is not different from her current married life where she depends on this illegal income and which could disappear quickly if he is found out.

[CriminalFriend]

Thank you again for all your replies.

I think you correctly raise an issue she hadn't thought about, if she wants to use courts to enforce judgements then that obviously doesn't work if those judgements are about illegal activities. I think because this is so normal for her she really hadn't looked at it like that.

In her defence it was well into the marriage when she found out, to all intents and purposes it's a standard business that operates overseas, only when you look at it more closely you realise all is not what it looks like.

So she really has no option but to get him to declare his assets, pay any tax due and then get a judgement.

Which I think will be a struggle.

Thank you again.

[PreventBankScam]

I think she may well have a bigger issue on her hands than the divroce.

If she is aware of the criminal operation and benefitting from the proceeds of crime then she may well be looking at a jail sentence if he is busted.

I don't think she needs a divorce lawyer I think she needs a criminal lawyer.

I would go and see a criminal lawyer and explore her options. If she really wasn't aware of it at the start of the relationship then she may have a defence but she if he controls the money to the extent she wasn't aware then she may have a case for financial coercion against him.

I'm not a lawyer and this needs proper legal advice however I concur with previous posters that she surely can't get a court order for illegal gains.

[NotLegalAdvice]

She needs to see a lawyer.

It’s exactly the same as asking a judge to rule on fair shares in a drug deal!

[Kirstie’s Mom]

Sorry I’m a little confused . I divorced an embezzler . I was never turned down by any legal firm . They employed forensic accountants to track down money and shell companies . It’s expensive but it can be done . Go to Lois Langton at Howard Kennedy .

[Kirstie’s Mom]

Sorry I’m a little confused . I divorced an embezzler . I was never turned down by any legal firm . They employed forensic accountants to track down money and shell companies . It’s expensive but it can be done . Go to Lois Langton at Howard Kennedy .

[Btc_mummy]

I think the difference is that the OP’s friend is trying to get her ‘fair’ share of the illegal business/money and possibly ongoing spousal support from the proceeds of the criminal operation

Clearly no legit lawyer is going to want any part in this, and frankly nor should the friend

Regardless of them being married when she found out, she has been benefitting from the proceeds of crime and should be incredibly nervous about what she can have seized if this comes to light. House, car, jewellery etc - if his whole business is illegal, anything bought with his income is up for grabs by law enforcement

Instead of wanting to grab as much as she can, she needs to do the divorce quietly to avoid spooking authorities and then concentrate on building a legal and legitimate life for her and the children

[TryingMyBest]

The way I see it she has a couple of options. Assuming the guy is not a total sh*t and loves his children and has a moral compass and honour, they will have to agree between them informally, perhaps using a family mediator as an official witness, on a sum of money to ensure the children are housed, fed, clothed and have access to childcare so she can work, the same as he can work. This can be done without having to bring up how much and where the cash comes from. Both of them need to sit down and go through their accounts and how much they spend on the kids each month, including the home, education and 'stuff'. Realistically. And if he is currently the only one earning make an agreement on an amount to pay monthly to ensure this continues for them. Childcare will need to be part of that agreement so both of them can work.

They can then get divorced and there will be no need for the solicitors to do a foresnsic accounting job because they've already agreed. This obviously means she has to take his word he will pay for his kids, and if he doesn't she has only one course of action - which will not help her or the children in the short term and that's to shop him. Knowing she could do that may be enough to keep him to his word.

If he is a total sh*t and refuses to pay what he should, then she should speak to a criminal lawyer, understand what the law is, where she stands and what can be frozen or taken from him if the gains are ill gotten and ensure she is at the top of the list for anything that won't be taken from him. Then, shop him. This is a last resort as an amicable agreement is best for all of course. Hopefully he will see that too.

From what I see and read white collar criminals very rarely face jail time. It's all suspended, criminal record, paper prison which makes life difficult but unlikely to end up custodial. There isn't the space. People cope, kids cope as long as they are supported. No-one is likely to have a life without serious upheaval or some trauma, big or little t. and divorce is one of those. 

I hope he's not a sh*t. Good luck to her!


 

[Lola123]

I agree with a post here, a family lawyer will take this case on and will hire a forensic accountant who will track all funds, that is the easy part, the issue, as also raised here is that if there is genuine criminal activity and your friend has knowledge of it she may be in a legally challenging position.
A good family lawyer will signpost her to advice on this, Lois Langton or Julian Ribet are both excellent and at the same firm.