Our Professional Values & Ethics

The practice of Veritas Advisory Group is governed by professional standards of legal practice and defined ethical principles applicable to fraud and asset recovery work. These standards are not aspirational – they are operational requirements that apply to every case, every jurisdiction, and every stage of the recovery process. Fraud recovery involves engagement with courts, law enforcement, financial regulators, banks, and payment institutions across multiple European countries. Each interaction carries procedural, ethical, and regulatory obligations. The values set out below define how the firm meets those obligations in practice.

Legality and Procedural Compliance

All actions undertaken by Veritas Advisory Group are conducted within the framework of the applicable legislation in each relevant jurisdiction. Claims, applications, complaints, and regulatory submissions are prepared and filed in compliance with national procedural rules. Evidence is obtained exclusively through lawful mechanisms – court-ordered disclosure, regulatory production requests, and statutory information-sharing procedures. The firm does not use, commission, or rely on evidence obtained through unlawful means regardless of the circumstances of the underlying fraud. This principle applies equally to all jurisdictions in which the firm operates. Where proceedings are conducted simultaneously in multiple countries, procedural compliance is maintained independently in each jurisdiction under the supervision of locally qualified legal professionals who are directly accountable to the relevant national bar or regulatory authority.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

Client information is protected through multiple layers of confidentiality and data security controls. The firm adheres to legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality that governs all communications between lawyer and client. Access to case information within the team is restricted on a need-to-know basis – only professionals directly involved in a specific case have access to its details. Personal and financial data of clients are protected in accordance with applicable data protection legislation throughout the engagement.

GDPR Compliance

Veritas Advisory Group operates in full compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has been in effect across the European Union since 25 May 2018. All processing of personal data – whether of clients, counterparties, or third parties involved in proceedings – complies with GDPR principles of lawfulness, purpose limitation, data minimisation, and storage limitation. Data subject rights are respected throughout the recovery process, and appropriate technical and organisational measures are maintained to protect data against unauthorised access or disclosure.

Asian Data Protection Compliance

For clients based in Asia, the firm complies with applicable national data protection legislation, including the Personal Data Protection Act and equivalent legislation in the relevant Asian jurisdictions. This dual compliance framework ensures that client data is protected to the standards required in both the European jurisdiction where proceedings are conducted and the Asian jurisdiction where the client is located.

Legal Position and Case Viability

Every legal strategy developed by Veritas Advisory Group is grounded in facts and evidence – not in assumptions, speculation, or client expectations. Before proceedings are initiated, the firm conducts a preliminary assessment of case viability, evaluating the evidentiary basis, applicable legal mechanisms, identifiability of defendants, and realistic recovery prospects.

Client Rights and Obligations

The firm informs each client of their rights and obligations specific to their case and jurisdiction. This includes the legal basis for their claim, the procedural requirements they must satisfy, the evidentiary standard that applies, and any time limitations or filing deadlines that affect their position. Informed client participation is a prerequisite for effective case management – the client must understand what the law provides and what the law requires at each stage.

Declining Cases Without Legal Basis

Veritas Advisory Group will decline to accept a case where the preliminary assessment determines that no viable legal basis for recovery exists. This protects clients from incurring costs in proceedings that have no reasonable prospect of success. It also protects the integrity of the firm’s practice – the firm’s track record and credibility before courts, regulators, and institutions depend on bringing well-founded cases with genuine legal merit.

Transparency in Client Relations

Clients are informed of the status of their case and the actions being taken on their behalf at every material stage of the proceedings. The firm provides regular updates on procedural developments, institutional responses, and changes in the legal landscape that affect the case. Legal risks and possible scenarios are explained clearly, enabling the client to make informed decisions about the direction and scope of their case. The firm does not guarantee outcomes where no objective basis for such a guarantee exists. Fraud recovery involves variables that no legal representative can fully control – judicial decisions, institutional response times, asset dissipation, and the conduct of opposing parties. Honest assessment of these uncertainties is a professional obligation, not a limitation. Clients are better served by realistic expectations than by false assurances.

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest check is conducted before every new engagement is accepted. The firm verifies that no existing client relationship, case involvement, or institutional connection creates a conflict with the prospective client’s interests. Where a conflict is identified, the engagement is declined. The firm will not represent parties with opposing interests in the same or related matters, and will not accept instructions that compromise the independence of its legal position. This principle extends to all members of the team across all jurisdictions. A conflict identified in any jurisdiction or any part of the firm’s practice applies to the entire engagement – there is no jurisdictional separation that permits representation of conflicting interests in different countries within the same case.

Engagement with State Authorities

Fraud recovery proceedings require direct engagement with state authorities across multiple categories. The firm interacts with national courts in EU member states, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland where civil claims, asset freezing applications, and enforcement proceedings are filed and conducted. Engagement with law enforcement – police and prosecution authorities – is required for criminal complaints, production orders, and cross-border investigative cooperation.

How the Process Works

The engagement process with state authorities follows a structured sequence. The firm first identifies which authorities in which jurisdictions are relevant to the specific case based on the location of the fraudster, the receiving accounts, and the identified assets. Criminal complaints are then prepared in the format and evidentiary standard required by the relevant national authority and filed directly with the competent unit. Civil proceedings are initiated in parallel in the appropriate court. Regulatory complaints are submitted to the relevant financial supervisory authority where institutional failures contributed to the fraud or obstructed recovery. Throughout this process, the firm maintains direct communication with each authority, responds to information requests, provides supplementary evidence as it becomes available through parallel proceedings, and coordinates the timing of actions across jurisdictions to ensure mutual reinforcement. Engagement with banks and payment providers follows a similar structured approach – recall requests, unauthorised transaction claims, and disclosure applications are filed through established procedural channels with institutions where the firm has operational familiarity.

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

Veritas Advisory Group applies AML and KYC procedures to every client engagement. The firm verifies the identity of the client, the nature of the underlying matter, and the legitimacy of the funds involved in the case within the scope of permissible verification procedures. The firm will not accept cases where there are grounds to believe the assets in question are of unlawful origin or where the matter involves conduct that violates anti-money laundering legislation.

AMLD5 and AMLD6 Compliance

The firm’s AML framework reflects the requirements of the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5, Directive 2018/843/EU) and the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6, Directive 2018/1673/EU). Cases involving violations of these directives – whether by the prospective client or by the circumstances of the underlying matter – are declined. This compliance standard is applied uniformly across all jurisdictions in which the firm operates and is not subject to exceptions based on case value, client profile, or commercial considerations.

Professional Accountability

All legal professionals within the Veritas Advisory Group team are subject to the professional standards and disciplinary frameworks of their respective jurisdictions. Cases are conducted with due regard to both the client’s interests and the requirements of law. All key stages of case work are documented – creating a verifiable record of actions taken, decisions made, and communications exchanged at every phase of the recovery process. This documentation practice serves both the client and the firm. It ensures continuity where cases are long-running or involve personnel changes. It provides the evidentiary foundation for any review or audit of the firm’s conduct. And it demonstrates to courts, regulators, and institutions that every action taken on behalf of the client was considered, authorised, and lawfully executed.