That the capital was lawfully obtained and can be traced continuously from origin to the enterprise, with independent documentation for any gifted or borrowed portion.
Ask early how long the tracing takes
Salary income, a property sale and a family contribution are entirely ordinary sources and each requires its own documentary chain. Employment income is evidenced through tax filings across the relevant years. A property sale is evidenced through the agreement, the closing statement and the tax treatment of the proceeds.
A gift requires the giver's own source documentation, which some families find intrusive and which is not optional. Every account the money passed through needs statements covering the period, including accounts used briefly. Ask an adviser at the outset for a realistic estimate of the effort involved for a comparable file, and begin retrieval immediately, because institutional response times, not the family's diligence, usually set the pace.
Hypothetical example: a concert-lighting rental owner plans to invest proceeds from a business sale and a family gift. The first review should produce two separate document chains: sale agreement, closing records, tax filings, and account statements for the first source; donor records, transfer proof, and the donor’s own source evidence for the second. The bank trail settles how funds moved, while tax and transaction records settle why the money existed.
Request older statements before accounts are closed. A common error is merging all proceeds into one account and assuming the final balance explains itself. A dated ledger built before transfer helps identify a missing period or unexplained deposit while replacement evidence can still be obtained.