Investigative research reveals opportunities

Having the critical information you need can mean the difference between success and failure in business. When it comes to investigative research, trained experts can uncover facts that help you make the right decisions; and save your organisation from making costly mistakes. CRI® Group has trained investigators positioned worldwide who can help provide a range of investigative research services. When used as a tool of effective due diligence, investigative research can provide an immediate advantage and be a proven benefit for an organisation in any industry. In this article, we’ll discuss a few ways investigative research can help uncover previously unknown weaknesses.

Finding fraud

Any organisation is susceptible to fraud. To make matters worse, corporate fraud is often a complex crime, requiring a high degree of investigative expertise to ensure that evidence is gathered and handled correctly, interviews are conducted effectively, and laws are carefully followed in the investigation.

CRI® Group has conducted financial investigations for companies worldwide to uncover a variety of criminal activity, including:

• Corporate and accounting fraud
• Asset misappropriation
• Data manipulation or data theft
• Internal & external corruption
• Embezzlement
• Kickback schemes
• Expense manipulation
• Procurement fraud
• Third-party fraud
• IP Infringement
• Insurance fraud

The worst type of fraud scheme is the one you don’t know about. Statistics say that a typical fraud lasts as long as 18 months before it is discovered. With proper investigative research, you can uncover fraud sooner – and hopefully prevent the next one.

Discovering IP Theft

Intellectual property (IP) theft is a serious threat to any organisation. Unfortunately, trying to counteract it can be a slow and expensive process. Using proper investigative research by an expert provider like CRI Group can help uncover cases of IP theft and help you begin the process of securing your property.

Did you know how many types of IP theft are out there? In today’s high-tech world, your organisation can’t afford not to protect its IP assets. Through IP infringement investigations, our experts have helped uncover the following:

• Trade secret breaches
• Data breaches and IP leaks
• Patent investigations
• Theft of proprietary customer data
• Copyright abuse
• Unauthorised use of trademarks
• Counterfeit & pirated products
• Threats to brand integrity and reputation
• Brand imitation & product copying

Uncovering conflicts of interest

Conflicts of interest can cause serious harm and weaken your organisation. They can impact your bottom line, such as when an executive awards business to a colleague or friend at higher prices or partners with an unethical or disreputable third party. Investigative research provides extensive due diligence, looking deep into partnerships and vendors to uncover potential conflicts of interest.

Some of the scenarios CRI® Group’s experts have discovered:

• Criminal conduct and background issues
• Hidden assets
• Shell companies
• Unethical partnerships
• Bid-rigging
• Hidden financial interests among executives or management

Investigative research is critical in helping your organisation stay on top of any issues before spiral out of control. And as an effective tool for risk management, it helps you put preventative measures in place for the future. In business, the more you know the facts, the better positioned you will be. Contact CRI® Group to learn more about how investigative research can help your organisation today.

Who is CRI® Group?

Based in London, CRI® Group works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI® Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications; it is also an HRO certified provider and an Oracle partner.