A team of global commercial fraud lawyers and investment professionals is launching a USD150m investment fund, named Echemus, to underwrite the investigation, seizure and recovery of worldwide assets for victims of fraud.

The team is led by Martin Kenney, a renowned commercial fraud lawyer and asset recovery specialist currently engaged in unwinding billions of dollars connected to the Bernard Madoff investment scheme.

Kenney will serve as managing director of the fund and will oversee all of its investigation, collection and litigation activities.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that purportedly fraudulent, "black transactions" account for five to ten per cent of the world’s gross domestic product each year, and data from the International Chamber of Commerce shows more than USD1bn in high-value commercial fraud is reported every month worldwide.

"Many victims have nowhere to turn to recover assets, and corporations or governments often lack the incentive or the political will to prosecute perpetrators, who might be former high-ranking officials from their own organisations," says Kenney.

"To unravel the world’s largest and most complicated frauds, and to recover the assets for victims requires an array of forensic accountants, investigators and specialized law firms. Echemus will provide fraud victims the financial and human resources they need to mount such an operation, in exchange for a portion of the assets recovered."

Echemus aims to finance a portfolio of approximately 25 high-value commercial fraud, asset recovery and third-party liability claims. Echemus will finance and help manage the asset recovery process for claimants in exchange for an average of 30 per cent of what they recover.