Investigating Commercial Fraud

The first thing that you need to be aware of is that unless you are a major Blue-Chip corporation and victim of a financially substantial fraud, you are not going to get too much help from the Police. They simply don't have the resources to investigate relatively insubstantial frauds. Generally you will be advised that it considered 'a civil matter', where you would be expected to seek 'justice' and recovery in the Civil Courts. Even where the police do get involved they are not 'debt collectors', so if you want to recover your losses you will need to take civil action.

The second thing to bear in mind is that fraud investigations take time and cost money, even if everything should be recoverable. Unlike the television detectives where the crime is solved within the hour, including commercial breaks, in the real world of fraud investigation, reaching a satisfactory conclusion is a little more time consuming.

Regardless of the cost there are a number of very good reasons for carrying out a professional investigation;

You want to avoid further financial loss by identifying the and dealing with the problem quickly.
There is a good chance that you may recover your losses, either directly, or through due legal process.
You want to avoid costly counter litigation under Human Rights, Data Protection, and Employment legislation by taking action or making allegations without sufficient evidence
You want to control and protect your reputation and avoid matters escalating

Timing is sometimes critical to a successful investigation and the best time to call us in is when you suspect a fraud or corruption is taking place.

We will immediately risk assess the situation and agree with you the best course of immediate action. This may not necessarily be a matter of dismissing the employee on the spot and marching him/her off the premises. Sometimes it is advisable to let the fraudulent or corrupt activity 'run' so that more substantial evidence can be gathered, and associates and accomplices identified.

An investigation is about team work. We will work with your professional advisors as appropriate and bring in our own forensic experts and specialist as required. Our role is to use our expertise to manage and co-ordinate the investigation, gather evidence, conduct interviews and take statements and provide a report that will stand up to scrutiny at a tribunal or in a court of law.

Such is our expertise and experience that we employ best investigative practices that complies with the Data Protection Act, Human Rights and where applicable RIPA and PACE.

Engaging Investitec

Our job is to risk assess any suspicions that you may have that fraud or corruption is taking place. And we will continue to risk assess every aspect of the investigation to ensure that the right strategy and techniques are being applied.

We will advise and agree with you an overall strategy, plan the investigation and manage the process of gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and suspects, carrying out surveillance where required, submitting investigation reports, and tracing assets.

We will be working with your legal advisors and, if appropriate your auditors, accountants, and not least, your Human Resource professionals where an employee is involved.

Why Investitec

We specialise in commercial investigations involving misconduct, fraud and corruption.
Our senior principle is an vastly experienced commercial investigator, and a Certified Fraud Examiner with an Advanced Certificate Level 7 (Masters) in Investigative Practice.
Our equally qualified associates extend worldwide and we have access to the full range of forensics services and expert witnesses.
We understand, and are particularly sensitive to the commercial effects that fraudulent and corrupt activity will have on your organisation and its reputation.
You can be assured of our professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality at all times.

Please Call 01794 389 598