Asset Investigations
Asset and financial investigations become necessary when the goal is to understand the financial solidity and actual financial capacity of a subject (individual or legal entity).
Through such investigations, essentially, a clear and precise picture of the real asset and financial situation of the subject of interest is obtained (real estate and movable property ownership, income status, any protests, bankruptcies, mortgages, seizures, attachments, pending legal actions, etc.).
With this type of investigation, it is possible to verify not only the ownership of certain assets by a subject but also—and above all—whether these assets are free from encumbrances such as those mentioned above.
An investigation of this type would allow evaluating beforehand the actual convenience of concluding a deal to avoid the risk of falling into fraud or simply to have economic certainty of the transaction. Not doing so would mean accepting the risk of acting without prior and adequate information about the real solidity and solvency of the subject with whom the deal is being made, thus wasting time and especially money. Relying on this type of investigation means avoiding, after the deal is concluded, troublesome legal actions for debt recovery, which are costly and time-consuming.
Asset investigations can also be useful in cases of contractual defaults to recover credits owed, although, as mentioned above, it is recommended to rely on such investigations before concluding a commercial deal to avoid encountering such risks.
This investigative tool becomes as useful to creditors as the information found is detailed and truthful for credit recovery.
In summary, these investigations are essential for protecting assets and credit, and for exposing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts that can be committed against one’s interests.
Cadastral Searches – Property Inspection
A cadastral search is a document listing the real estate properties registered to an individual or legal entity (company) throughout Italy.
These searches allow tracing and precisely identifying real estate assets owned by a subject, such as land and buildings, and discovering if such properties are encumbered by liens such as mortgages (voluntary or judicial) or if they have been subject to attachments or seizures.
These real estate investigations are conducted by inspecting the records held by the Land Registry and the Voluntary and Prejudicial Acts maintained at the Real Estate Registry Office.
The information obtained through these searches is useful both to know the real estate assets of a subject before concluding commercial transactions with them, and to pursue a debtor by initiating legal actions to recover owed credits and obtain fair compensation for damages suffered.
Searches of Registered Movable Assets (cars, motorcycles, boats, etc.)
This type of search allows identifying vehicles owned by a subject.
By knowing the license plate number, it is possible to trace the name of the vehicle’s owner (providing the personal details of the registered owner and the vehicle’s technical characteristics), or by using the name of a subject, it is possible to find the vehicles they own.
The search will provide the following data: type of vehicle | vehicle license plate | year of registration.
Asset Investigations for Debt Recovery
This type of investigation allows verifying income sources, economic-financial and asset situations, and the availability of a debtor (individual or legal entity) (including any company participations, protests, previous bankruptcies or bankruptcies of connected companies, other prejudicial facts, etc.).
Such investigations are indispensable when one wants to assess the reliability and solvency of a person with whom a deal is to be concluded or a simple client (for example, a bank wanting to renew a commercial credit line for its client).
In conclusion, investigations for credit recovery provide useful information to identify legally enforceable assets, allowing a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate whether pursuing judicial recovery actions is worthwhile.
If the investigations yield negative results, and it is thus not convenient to proceed with damage recovery since the debtor lacks sufficient means to reimburse the creditor, new checks can be performed after some time to detect favorable changes for the client (new employment, acquisition of assets, etc.).
Asset Investigation on an Individual
This type of asset investigation serves to know the list and details of any real estate (land and buildings) and movable assets registered to an individual (vehicles, bank account balances, savings deposits, any other investments, etc.), their income status (including any pension position), and the presence of any pending lawsuits or final judgments against them.
Below is a brief list of the information obtainable with this type of investigation: work activity performed by the subject (reference to duties and qualifications held), offices and participations in companies, public telephone utilities, past and current entrepreneurial interests, telephone contacts, residence, domicile, any protests, bankruptcies in their name (also extended to related companies), ongoing attachments on owned assets, voluntary or judicial encumbrances (mortgages) on owned assets, other prejudicial facts, etc.
These investigations are important to understand the reliability and solvency of a subject, to get an idea of their ability to repay a debt. Consider how useful this information can be to verify a subject’s real income capacity before doing business with them or for legal action to recover credit from a defaulting subject.
Such investigations may also be requested in cases of separation between spouses to ascertain the economic capacity of either party for determining maintenance payments.
In short, a comprehensive report on an individual would clarify their economic, financial, and asset situation.
Financial Tracing
Through this service, banks and financial institutions where the individual or legal entity is registered are identified, along with the determination of bank or postal current accounts.
Asset Investigation on a Legal Entity (small, medium, and large enterprises)
This is an investigative inquiry aimed at collecting data and information on a company to perform an in-depth analysis of its asset and economic-financial status.
The main information obtained through this type of investigation includes: company registration data, business activity performance (turnover, profits, losses, etc.), number of employees, verification of headquarters and operational units, sales flow, payment behavior, key clients (commercial partners and suppliers), relationships, references and banking relationships (tracking bank or postal accounts registered to the company with indication of the relevant bank), availability, any public telephone utilities, movable and immovable property ownership, with indications of any prejudicial events affecting it such as protests, bankruptcies (also extended to connected companies), ongoing attachments, voluntary or judicial encumbrances (mortgages).
This service proves essential to prevent insolvency risk or to evaluate in advance the chances of recovering a credit.
In short, the comprehensive report obtained through this type of investigation allows verifying the legal, economic, and financial structure and the asset consistency of any Italian company.