Extending our core INTELLIGENCE services
Set out below is a summary of the ancillary services we provide. In many ways they are all extensions of our core intelligence services which are all about finding evidence and then trying to prove it is true or false or identify what is missing and try and find that. Finding concealed or undisclosed information and validating representations or disclosures are the most requested services Faire Sans Dire provides, particularly to the legal business community.
Please note that we are neither a regulated law firm nor a firm of practising accountants and the services we offer are restricted (eg we don’t provide auditing services) as explained under the heading “Legal & Accounting Services & Advice” in our Privacy Policy & Legal Notice. Nevertheless the range of services we offer is considerable; we specialise in undertaking background checks and providing cyber security services.
When providing any of our services we are fully aware that they have to be delivered to exacting standards in order to meet the requirements of any courts or tribunals our findings may have to be used in. We always adhere to “best practice”. Even if you are not contemplating legal action you never can tell if someone “disturbed” by any actions you take pursuant to an investigation or the like will take legal action against you.When considering whether or not these services are relevant to you or your organisation you should bear in mind that often personal difficulties or private financial problems of senior management can have a significant impact on your business or organisation both directly and indirectly. The services we provide can be tailored for individuals as well as companies and other organisations.
If you are seeking help and require services that don’t quite align with those summarised below please look at the core services and cyber services we provide and do not hesitate to contact us if the services you are seeking do not appear on our menus. We can always tailor our services to your bespoke requirements and if we can’t assist you ourselves we are almost certainly likely to be able to recommend someone or some organisation that could.
Preventing fraud & managing risk
We and our duly licensed associates can assist you with the establishment of a top down controls or procedural manual covering cyber and other risks which will not only strengthen your organisation but also help minimise risks, give comfort to funders and add value. For businesses contemplating a sale such a manual can add significant value prior to a divestment of part or even the whole of your business.
Using state of the art technology we can review the security of your IT and telecommunication systems and advise you on ways of making them more secure. If necessary we can construct simulated cyber attacks to test your business’s systems security.
Where required our covert services may be usefully supplemented to the foregoing particularly if during the course of the provision of these services suspicious activities or areas open to blatant abuse are identified.
Establishing crisis management procedures
We can not only assist you prepare crisis management procedures and flowcharts but in the event of a crisis we can help. For example, if faced with defending a court case or an employment tribunal case many businesses do not have the in-house expertise to cope and have to resort to solicitors often at great cost. We can assist in garnishing and corralling evidence ahead of court and employment tribunal cases and help obtain witness statements and affidavits while you get on with running your business.
Providing web-site & cyber security services
There are many ancillary services we provide relating to web-site and cyber security. Examples of the services we provide are shown under the section in our web-site entitled Cyber Services. These are by no means exhaustive so please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Conducting surveillance operations
We can conduct surveillance operations either conventionally, electronically or remotely to gather intelligence to complement our other services using reliable techniques including high powered video equipment, directional audio equipment and sophisticated global tracking systems.
Contrary to common perceptions the use of human and physical surveillance as an investigative tool is a dying art other than in divorce cases or similar where you are simply trying to prove a connection. In our experience it is not often relevant to the sort of research or investigations we do and can be very time consuming and costly as at a minimum most surveillance warrants teams of at least three or four experienced specialists.
In fact, effective human and physical surveillance often requires the use of large teams of highly trained specialists for lengthy periods of time and can therefore be prohibitively costly. In addition, in many investigations, from a legal perspective surveillance rarely nails down what you want to prove whereas the careful monitoring of computers, mobile phones and other equipment (such as printers and even scanners/copiers) can often achieve more compelling results.
If you review any court hearing where evidence of human surveillance is presented to, for example, prove the planning of a terrorist crime, you will almost invariably note that it is the overwhelming evidence obtained (during raids) pursuant to the surveillance that secures the convictions and not the video recordings per se created during the course of the surveillance. Needless to say, in civil cases it is much more difficult to obtain the evidence pursuant to the surveillance notwithstanding the use of other personally intrusive search and seize court orders.
Nevertheless the legitimate use of a “digital spy” for surveillance purposes either connected to communications or other electronic equipment or simply put in place to monitor what is going on like a web-cam can produce very compelling results.
Providing counter-surveillance services
If you are involved in a particularly sensitive transaction or operation (such as conducting a covert investigation) and are concerned that you may be the subject of surveillance we can conduct counter-surveillance operations for the protection of key staff or sensitive areas such as board rooms or directors’ cars.
Where intrusive equipment is identified physically or interference is detected via radio spectrum analysis using discone antenna etc during a counter-surveillance sweep the last thing we do is remove the source of the problem and we can apply sophisticated disinformation techniques to entrap those conducting the surveillance.
Resolving board & shareholder disputes
We can assist majority shareholders rebut spurious claims by minority shareholders and vice versa as well as assist in the collection of evidence in support of unfairly prejudiced minority shareholders. Often such tussles emanate from or result in board room disputes and we can assist resolve those and where required examine the conduct of directors and other connected parties.
Assisting victims of financial crime
If you have been the victim of financial crime we may be able to assist you on many fronts so if in doubt contact us and we’ll see if there are any ways we can help you recover what has been taken or advise on what action to take (for example if the police are not interested in pursuing the matters you have reported to them).
Assisting victims of civil court abuse
If you are the victim of civil court abuse we can help you investigate and rebut any spurious claims against you. We know how difficult it can be to prove something that hasn’t happened didn’t actually occur. We can also assist you with the preparation of affidavits or collecting witness statements.
We also have contacts with businesses that may be able to fund your case through after the event insurance. We can help present your case to whoever you decide to approach such that you have a greater chance of successfully funding your case.
Tracing assets or missing persons
We can assist with tracing concealed assets or missing persons on a worldwide basis either as an exercise in itself or in order to obtain evidence in support of other investigations. Once we have traced the assets we usually recover them as we think quite laterally before we apply our asset recovery strategies particularly in extremely difficult situations.
Mystery shopping & integrity checking
We provide mystery shopping and integrity checking services anywhere in your business operational chain from point of sale to ordering goods and services for use by your business either targeted at fraud, policy compliance or incompetence.
Investigating whistleblower claims
Interestingly, statistically about 50% of whistleblowers’ claims are proven to have some merit and about 50% of fraud is identified by tip offs and whistleblowers’ claims. They should not be dismissed lightly and we can investigate these sorts of claims.
Finding the sources of leaks
We investigate the sources of leaks of confidential information etc that could harm any organisation reputationally or otherwise.
Using Trojan horse employees
Where widespread malpractice or criminal activities are suspected within your organisation we can infiltrate the relevant areas through the use of Trojan horse or dummy employees where necessary with the support of applied sophisticated surveillance technologies.
Investigating bribery & corruption
We can investigate bribery and corruption allegations involving not only employees but also suppliers, customers and other parties. We can also assist organisations implement procedures such that were certain breaches of the UK’s Bribery Act 2010 alleged those allegations could be rebutted.
Entrapping blackmailers & extortionists
We are used to handling operations to entrap and silence blackmailers and extortionists, where necessary operating in conjunction with the police. We can adopt various complex approaches to handle such situations using a mixture of surveillance, counter-surveillance and other means such as convoluted mystery shopping and integrity checking procedures.