Open-Source Intelligence for Asset Tracing and Recovery

Course overview

Subjects of asset recovery investigations rarely declare their wealth, but they often display it. Property listings, company filings, procurement awards, wedding photographs and vehicle sale adverts can all point to assets that never appear in a bank statement. This OSINT asset tracing course teaches investigators to find that material lawfully, confirm what it really shows and preserve it so that it can support a restraint or forfeiture application.

The course is built around asset discovery rather than general online research. Participants practise searching land and company registries, public procurement portals, court records, social media and marketplace sites, and learn how to connect usernames, phone numbers and addresses to people and property. Verification receives as much time as discovery: geolocation, image analysis, date checks and corroboration against official records. Every session ends with hands-on tasks on a simulated subject whose assets are spread across Kenya, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.

By the end, participants can run a disciplined online enquiry, protect their own digital footprint and hand over captured material with a clear audit trail.

What you will be able to do

• Plan an open-source enquiry around specific asset recovery questions
• Search registries, procurement and court records for links to property and companies
• Use social media and marketplace content to identify lifestyle indicators and undeclared assets
• Verify images, locations and dates before relying on online material
• Link identifiers such as phone numbers, emails and usernames to individuals and assets
• Capture and preserve online evidence with a defensible audit trail
• Manage operational security and personal digital exposure during online research
• Report OSINT findings in a form investigators and prosecutors can use

Who should attend

For investigators and analysts who trace assets as part of their work and want structured, defensible open-source methods. Comfortable everyday computer use is enough; no programming is required.

• Asset recovery investigators
• Financial investigators
• FIU analysts
• Anti-corruption investigators
• Revenue authority investigators
• Bank and corporate investigators
• Paralegals in forfeiture units

Course outline

Fees are per participant in US dollars and cover tuition, course materials and your certificate. Travel and accommodation are not included.