Firestone (2008:1209): “Raiding is so widespread that Russia has even spawned a class of professional raiders. Some of them operate as ‘consultants’ who, for a fee, help clients plan and execute illegal takeovers of target companies.”
Firestone (2008:1210-1215): identifies four different types of raid. First, bankruptcy schemes, where the raider acquires a company’s debt, demands immediate repayment, and then manipulates bankruptcy proceedings to take control of the company. Second, corporate schemes, where the raider falsifies internal documents or obtains control over voting rights or board of directors to gain control of a company; its assets are then typically swiftly transferred through shell companies to a ostensibly good faith purchaser, making recovery almost impossible. Third, litigation schemes, where the raider files civil cases against the target, usually in a remote jurisdiction, and then uses the courts to authorise the seizure of assets. Finally, land schemes, where fraudulent documents are used to establish title over land. Supplementary tactics include various methods to obtain information on a company and its assets and debts, and “black PR” to damage a company’s reputation and lower its share price or to provide the justification for opening a criminal case.
Hanson (2014:3): Outlines a typical scenario, whereby a businessman is charged with an economic crime and placed in pre-trial detention. From here, two routes are available: transfer the assets and obtain freedom, or go to prison and the courts transfer the assets to the raider.