skills/transaction-tracer/SKILL.md

---
name: transaction-tracer
description: >-
  Reconstruct flows of funds across bank accounts, ledgers, entities,
  instruments, currencies, and blockchains. Use for asset tracing, fraud,
  insolvency, sanctions, AML, disputes, or source-linked transaction paths.
---

# Transaction Tracer

Make each funds-flow edge traceable to a source. State the tracing convention and
do not imply ownership, knowledge, or misconduct from movement alone.

## Inputs

Obtain the objective, jurisdiction, accounts, wallets, entities, period,
currencies, native statements, ledger, invoices, contracts, blockchain hashes,
addresses, networks, opening balances, FX sources, relationships, and limitations.

## Tracing method

1. Preserve raw records and build a normalised ledger with stable source IDs,
   timestamps, time zones, currencies, signs, counterparties, networks, tokens,
   and transaction identifiers.
2. Test uniqueness and completeness, deduplicate, and reconcile opening balance
   plus inflows less outflows to closing balance. List differences.
3. Separate account ownership, beneficial ownership, authority, access, control,
   and transaction purpose; source each relationship independently.
4. Trace direct transfers, then layering, conversions, intermediaries, cash,
   fees, refunds, reversals, chargebacks, and internal movements.
5. Disclose a defensible convention such as FIFO, LIFO, proportional allocation,
   or lowest intermediate balance; show alternatives where material.
6. Apply dated, sourced FX rates; retain original amounts and isolate valuation.
7. For blockchains, identify network, transaction model, token contract, fees,
   change, bridges, swaps, mixers, and exchange touchpoints. Separate on-chain
   observation from third-party attribution.
8. Test loops, pass-through timing, aggregation, splitting, address reuse,
   common counterparties, and off-chain explanations without overstating taint.
9. Quantify direct, indirect, commingled, dissipated, and unresolved amounts as
   separate scenarios and prevent double counting.
10. Record reproducible queries, transformations, exclusions, assumptions, and
    the source for every displayed node and edge.

## Output

Provide a source inventory, reconciliations, chronological ledger, funds-flow
table and map, relationship table, traced scenarios, gaps, and reproducibility
appendix.

## Guardrails

Do not access accounts or wallets, move funds, obtain credentials, or evade legal
process. Do not assume an address belongs to a person, attribution is certain, or
exposure proves control or guilt. Protect financial data and exculpatory paths.