About us
AESI was established in 2014 to advise on and manage the recovery of several portfolios of “hard to collect” judgment debts and “causes in action”. The company has since purchased proprietary interests in claims from liquidators, which remains its core business model today.
AESI is first and foremost a catalyst for recovery. Our team advises on and manages situations where deals and relationships have gone bad. Sometimes, business simply does not go to plan and there is no avenue for recovery. But too often, wrongdoing and dishonesty will come to the fore, leaving a key in the door to a recovery. We use our knowledge, inventiveness and resourcefulness garnered from difficult recoveries to find and turn that key.
Our work rarely starts in jurisdictions where business is easy or where people with the means to pay are willing to do so. To date, the AESI team has recovered money from Thailand, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Canada, France and Switzerland, and has recoveries pending from Cuba, Singapore, Senegal, DRC, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
AESI is not a litigation funder and does not fund third-party litigation. Litigation is only one tactical tool and is not an end in itself. Nor is AESI a vulture funder. The company will acquire commercial debts due from governments, but typically will avoid sovereign distressed debt.
What to expect from AESI
If our initial criteria is met, our team will thoroughly evaluate the judgment debt or cause of action. We will put together a high-level strategy to monetise the potential recoveries that have been identified. Typically, this process will involve targeting jurisdictions where a recovery can be made or a settlement forged. We work backwards through an evaluation of the merits and the risks of each prerequisite step, until the situation at hand is reached.
AESI will evaluate the vendor/client’s objective. Usually this will be to maximise recovery. At times, the objective will involve shedding business risk that AESI can absorb, whether that be financial risk, reputational risk or the risk of being identified as a partner with an interest in the recovery.
The team will propose a price and a structure, typically with the vendor retaining a beneficial interest in the recovery, but where the strategy is funded by AESI. Our core considerations will be time, cost and the probability of a sufficiently large recovery to make the effort worthwhile.
Global Reach
Case 1
Taiwan – Debtor
Singapore – Lawyers
Cayman Islands – Lawyers
Italy – Lawyers
France – Lawyers
UK – Solicitors/Barristers/Bailiffs
The AESI Mindset
Our robust mindset keeps us focused and on track to carry out successful recoveries for our clients.
Honour
Honour motivates everything we do at AESI. We are honest, fair, consistent and dependable throughout each case we undertake, and put others before ourselves.
Positive Contribution
AESI’s strategies contribute positively to international commercial infrastructure by penalising breaches of economic trust.
Work
Debtors work hard to avoid their obligations, and hire smart people to help them do this. We cannot assume we can work smarter, so we work harder.
Knowledge, Criticism and Creativity
Actionable knowledge is key to our work. We map out all possible actions, reactions and outcomes, then enhance our knowledge through questioning and criticism.
Motivated, Determined and Unafraid
The road to a successful recovery is pitted with threats, obstacles, detours and traps placed by the debtor. Our experience gives us the motivation and determination to persevere.
Alignment
We seek to align our interests with the interests of our clients and partners. Debt recovery can be a high risk endeavour and it is only fair that we succeed where everyone succeeds.
AESI Strategies
Our strategy doesn’t follow one direct path. We identify the detours, alternative paths and targets to be taken, to find the best route.
Get in touch
If you have a “hard to enforce” money judgment or award, or a commercial dispute preceding a money judgment or award targeting at least US$3m, contact us to discuss your options.
