About us
Franz J. Sedelmayer is a security and claim‑recovery specialist, entrepreneur, and author, recognized for not only winning but actually enforcing court and arbitration decisions against a foreign sovereign with a reputation for nonpayment. His Sedelmayer v. Russian Federation cases helped define modern case law on sovereign immunity, corporate separateness, and cross‑border enforcement. He is widely regarded as the only claimant to have compelled Russia to pay an arbitral award and multiple money judgments in full.
With decades of experience across high‑stakes property disputes, Mr. Sedelmayer and his team assist creditors in complex cross‑border recoveries, blending creative strategies with a determination to set new precedents.
Mr. Sedelmayer holds equity and co‑founder roles in several recovery and investigations firms in Europe and the United States that discreetly represent governmental and private clients. He leverages a broad, carefully curated international network of legal practitioners, forensic accountants, investigative and intelligence specialists, academics, and former senior government officials.
He consults and frequently lectures at universities, law firms, government agencies, and political organizations.
Enforcement
comes at a cost, but
significant
interest-
bearing
claims
are much too
valuable
to abandon.
Every debtor tactic is familiar territory — and handled.
A victory on paper is not the same as cash in hand, and claimants are frequently left to fend for themselves. Significant court judgments and arbitral awards must typically be enforced across borders and, by design, are hard to collect. Debtors, be it a nation state or a private party, will -more often than not- avoid compliance by obstructing the enforcement process.
We map where assets are, how they are used, and who ultimately exercises control over them.
The use of third parties to hold and protect a debtor’s assets across international borders, or the invocation of immunity or corporate separateness, has effectively become standard practice. Transactions made with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors can be unwound, and the proceeds may be subject to seizure. The same applies to sanctioned debtors trying to obscure the origin and destination of funds or other assets.
We design enforcement to keep time and capital aligned with the realistically achievable recovery.
The prospect of committing more time and capital to enforcement in the post-judgment phase —with no guarantee of recovery—frequently deters creditors. Usually, it is not a financial, but a psychological hurdle. Resolve and tradecraft are key.
Is claim recovery legal, and what distinguishes Sedelmayer’s International Claim Recovery from traditional law firms or litigation funders? And what about compliance?
Yes. Legitimate claim recovery is a legal practice area focused on identifying, tracing, freezing, and ultimately recovering assets through court orders or other lawful processes, often after fraud, corruption, judgment, or award. This requires financial forensics, investigative work, creativity, resolve, and on‑the‑ground execution, not just legal analysis and advocacy.
We follow each jurisdiction’s laws and privacy rules when gathering evidence, use only lawfully obtained data, and handle any cross‑border transfers compliantly.
Increasingly,
arbitral awards,
judgments, and
loans remain
unpaid, are
written off,
or sold for
less than
the cost of
litigation.
There are only
solutions
A deteriorating economic and geopolitical climate has made outright non-payment a more rational choice than compliance for many debtors. The larger the claim, the more likely the debtor is to resist.
We are familiar with all the practical, political, and legal hurdles. We cut through those challenges efficiently, always staying focused on what really matters —PAYMENT.
Creditor SPVs
Where appropriate, we structure bespoke funding solutions for significant claims through Creditor Special Purpose Vehicles, financing the operational and legal costs of the recovery.
