Private Investigators Research Articles

THE ROLES OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS IN PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING IN PHOENIX ACTIVITIES

The process of company liquidation is always full of money laundering allegations and vulnerable to fraud. This fraudulent scheme is referred to as phoenix activity. The main purpose of phoenix activity is to avoid liability and expenses, which detriments the stakeholders. This research explains the importance of the role of forensic accountants prior, during, and after bankruptcy. The methodology used in this research is literature review examining the problems through various researches and frameworks. The literature review discusses three aspects related to fraudulent bankruptcy scheme i.e. motivation, the scheme processes and litigation processes. The research concludes that the presence of forensic accountants is important in the insolvency prevention and detection, in their roles as(1) independent and hired experts; (2) professional legal assistance providers of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and asset manager; (3) business valuation experts; (4) private investigators; and (5) surveillance body for anti-money laundering purposes.

A Comparative Study on Private Investigators in the United Kingdom and South Korea - Focusing on the Missing Person Investigation System -

A Comparative Study on Private Investigators in the United Kingdom and South Korea - Focusing on the Missing Person Investigation System -

Justice in an Ever-Evolving (Digital) World – A Reflection on the Annual International Bar Association’s War Crimes Conference

This opinion article gives an overview of discussions on the future of international criminal justice during the International Bar Association’s Annual War Crimes Conference, held in The Hague on April 13th, 2019. The topics set out focus on international criminal investigations, more specifically on who is investigating (which actors) and how is being investigated. This article first discusses corporations and international crimes and highlights the different ways in which corporations can be involved in atrocities. Then, the role of private (non-state) actors is discussed, more notably the role of civil society and private investigators. The third topic relates to UN investigative mechanisms, namely those for Iraq, Myanmar and Syria. Each section starts with an overview of panellists’ presentations and ends with the author’s own reflections. The article ends with a general overview on the future of international criminal investigations and additional reflections and suggestions for practice and further research.

A Study on the Legislation ofLicensed Private Investigators in the ROK

A Study on the Legislation ofLicensed Private Investigators in the ROK

Pessoas coletivas e os programas de compliance: a problemática da prova compartilhada com o processo penal de pretensão democrática

O presente artigo tem como objetivo principal analisar criticamente a produção e o possível compartilhamento de provas originárias de programas de compliance com o processo penal que se pretende democrático. Nesse contexto, a partir de revisão bibliográfica, procuramos demonstrar potenciais implicações de direitos de defesa e alguns dos aspectos da tendência de privatização de deveres tradicionalmente estatais. Por fim, concluímos pela utilização válida de provas provenientes de investigadores particulares desde que sejam respeitados os mesmos limites atualmente vigentes para o regular funcionamento do processo penal em ambiente democrático.

Detective Audit: Methodology for Assessing the Business Reliability of a Small and Medium-Sized Business Entity

The method of private investigations is probably the most appropriate basis for the implementation of independent external control of commercial enterprises. Indeed, if we ignore the analysis of accounting documents that are perhaps the main and only source of financial activity history for the audited company, the remaining problem of forecasting business risk remains the search for unobvious, hidden from the public eyes factors of economic life of the company. In modern crisis conditions such analysis is difficult and requires new approaches for external control.Aims and objectives. The purpose of the work is to develop methodological provisions for the detective form of the layout of the auditing. The offered method is steady in demand among customers of detectives as it opens new opportunities for the honest business executives. This need for the interaction with the private investigation arises from the uncertainty of clients in the auditing opinion, which is one of the consequence of the direct dependence of the external auditor on the audited organization. A detective, on the contrary, is completely independent and free to collect, analyze any information that has to do with the actual financial and economic activities of the company.Methodology. The legal and institutional framework, the instant breakdown of technical equipment area and financial documentation, the interaction and separation of powers controls — these and about sixty more other most important factors are considered in the article, as essential qualitative characteristics affecting the current assessment of the financial and economic activity of the enterprise or firm.Results. The place of the detective auditing in the theory and practice of the auditor activity is specified. External and internal factors that exert a significant influence on the economic and financial activities of the organization are singled out. As a tool for its implementation, the method of factor analysis is proposed. Application area. The results of the research can be applied to the development of external auditing theory and practice.Conclusions. In the conditions of business opacity, detective auditing is a means of choosing future and reliable counterparties for the auditor’s clients.

Blame game in private investigation reports: The case of Deloitte examination at Telenor VimpelCom

AbstractBusiness and public organisations hire fraud examiners to conduct private investigations when there is suspicion of misconduct or financial crime. Fraud examiners carry out their investigation based on a mandate. Often, individuals in the organisation are suspects. The blame game hypothesis is concerned with factors that cause blame attribution to some individuals but not to others. In this case study, only executives were blamed who had not disclosed corruption information to a major shareholder and to the chief executive officer.

Maturity levels for private internal investigations

The purpose of private internal investigations by fraud examiners is to reconstruct the past by identifying past events and sequences of events. In this article, work by fraud examiners is studied in terms of maturity; introduce a five-stage model for investigation maturity: chaos, mess, disclosure, clarification, and investment. Based on student term papers in a financial crime class, six investigation reports are allocated to levels in the maturity model. The average score for the investigation reports is a level 3 disclosure, where the investigation is problem-oriented and often limited by the mandate. Based on the low average score, this article discusses the privatization of law enforcement, secrecy of investigation reports, lack of disclosure to the police, competence of private investigators, and limits of the investigation mandate.

Norwegian Approach to Private Internal Investigations: An Empirical Study of Mandates for Fraud Examiners

This article applies principal–agent relationship theory through an empirical study of private investigators’ mandates for fraud examiners in Norway. The business of private internal investigations by external fraud examiners has grown remarkably in the recent decades. Law firms and auditing firms are hired by private and public organizations to reconstruct the past when there is suspicion of misconduct and potential financial crime. Most reports of investigation are kept secret to the public and often also to the police, even when there is evidence of financial crime by white-collar criminals. For this study, we were able to identify and retrieve a total of 49 investigation reports in Norway for the 10-year period from 2006 to 2016. Reports are studied in terms of mandates defining the motive, purpose, scope, tasks, and goals. We find that mandates are deficient, thereby opening up for opportunistic behavior by both parties in the principal–agent relationship.

M. Sparrow (2016). Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform

M. Sparrow (2016). Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform

Evaluation of Fraud Examinations: A Contingent Approach to Private Internal Investigations

Abstract The business of private internal investigations by external fraud examiners has grown remarkably in recent decades. Law firms and auditing firms are hired by private and public organizations to reconstruct the past when there is suspicion of misconduct and potential financial crime. This article has presented an empirical study of 49 private internal investigations in Norway that were publicly available. A contingent approach to investigations was applied, where private investigations at later stages are facing different mandates than investigations at earlier stages in the criminal justice system. This research has been exploratory by indicating that fraud examiners make a higher level contribution at later stages in the criminal justice system.

Private police legitimacy: the case of internal investigations by fraud examiners

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the legitimacy of private policing of financial crime by fraud examiners.Design/methodology/approachThe literature on fraud examiners is interpreted in the legitimacy context.FindingsA number of critical issues based on the institutional theory and social psychology issues are discussed that question the legitimacy of private policing of financial crime.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a need for regulation of the private fraud examination industry.Practical implicationsA number of legitimacy issues should be addressed by financial crime specialists.Social implicationsVictims of private investigations require regulation of the investigation industry.Originality/valueCriteria for police legitimacy are applied to the private sector.

THE ROLES OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS IN PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING IN PHOENIX ACTIVITIES

The process of company liquidation is always full of money laundering allegations andvulnerable to fraud. This fraudulent scheme is referred to as phoenix activity. The main purposeof phoenix activity is to avoid liability and expenses, which detriments the stakeholders. Thisresearch explains the importance of the role of forensic accountants prior, during, and afterbankruptcy. The methodology used in this research is literature review examining the problemsthrough various researches and frameworks. The literature review discusses three aspectsrelated to fraudulent bankruptcy scheme i.e. motivation, the scheme processes and litigationprocesses. The research concludes that the presence of forensic accountants is important in theinsolvency prevention and detection, in their roles as (1) independent and hired experts; (2)professional legal assistance providers of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and asset manager; (3)business valuation experts; (4) private investigators; and (5) surveillance body for anti-moneylaundering purposes.

Privatisierung der Strafverfolgung — Königsweg oder Irrweg?

Privatization of criminal prosecution — a royal road or a wrong track?The comprehensive use of private individuals by the company management for the systematic clearance of suspected economic crimes has been for decades a tried and tested fact-finding method in the US legal system. In Germany this form of corporate private investigations took not place or was unknown to the public prosecution. This changed dramatically with the discovery of spectacular corruption affairs with international relation in 2007. “Internal Investigations” have developed since then to a lucrative commercial model particularly for American solicitor’s offices, because only these are accepted by the American authorities America only.However, the adherence to examination standards of a state under the rule of law must be also protected in the job. The judiciary must win back the inquiry sovereignty in the fight against economic crime.The fight against international economic crime can no longer be left to a single country alone. The fight against anti-competitive corruption should be a priority for the entire community. As an adequate means supplements to the Convention on the Fight against Corruption of the Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD on the Laws of Transnational Criminal Prosecution of Economic Offenses come into consideration.

Convenience in white-collar crime: A resource perspective.

White-collar offenders have access to resources that make financial crime convenient. In the rare case of crime suspicion, resources are available in terms of professional attorney work, control over internal investigations, and public relations support. Hiring private investigators at an early stage of potential crime disclosure enables the organization to control the investigation mandate and influence the investigation process and the investigation output. Getting an early start on reconstruction of the past in terms of a fraud examination makes it possible for the suspect and the organization to influence what facts are relevant and how facts might be assessed in terms of possible violations of the penal code. Convenience aspects of private investigations are discussed in this article in terms of five internal investigations, two in the United States (General Motors and Lehman Brothers) and three in Norway (Telenor VimpelCom, DNB Bank, and Norwegian Football Association). The aim of this research is to contribute insights into convenience associated with internal private investigations.

Foreseeing Secret Surveillance in Social Security: Setting the Record Straight

Vukota-Bojić v Switzerland, App no 61838/10, European Court of Human Rights, 16 October 2016 Swiss law did not set out sufficient safeguards against arbitrary interference. The secret surveillance of activities of social-insurance claimant by private investigators hired by her insurance company is therefore unlawful, and in violation of Article 8 ECHR. The violation of Article 8 ECHR does not interfere with her right to a fair trial (Article 6 ECHR).

A Comparative Study of Private Investigator Training Programs

이 연구는 현재 국가차원에서 제도화 하고 있지는 않지만, 이미 하나의 업종으로 공적으로 승인되고 있는 민간조사업을 인정하는 토대에서 외국의 민간조사원에 대한 교육훈련 프로그램들을 살펴보고, 우리나라에서 현재 상당수의 민 간조사 관련협회에서 제공하고 있는 민간조사원 교육훈련 프로그램을 비교 고찰하였다. 이를 통해 우리나라에서 현재 실시되고 있는 민간조사원 교육훈련프로그램의 현주소를 짚어보고 민간조사제도의 도입과 정착을 위해 요구되는 민간조사원 교육훈련프로그램에 관한 정책적 시사점을 찾고자 하였다. 연구결과 민간조사원의 업무 수행을 위한 교육훈련의 필요성과 중요성이 강조되었으며, 외국의 각 주요국가에서는 그 나라의 실정에 맞추어 민간조사원에 대한 자격제도나 전문교육 위한 교육프로그램이 운영되고 있음을 알 수 있었다. 우리나라는 현재 일부 협회에서 자체적으로 교육을 개설하여 자격을 부여하는 수준이며, 전문화된 자격제도로서의 전환을 위한 교육체계 및 프로그램의 개발이 우선적으로 이루어져야 할 필요가 있다. 또한 이러한 전문교육과정을 편성·운영하여 공인화된 자격을 부여할 수 있도록 함이 바람직할 것이다. 외국에서 실시되고 있는 민간조사원 교육훈련과정과 한국의 민간조사원 교육훈련의 현황을 비교·검토한 결과 전문성을 배제한 교육과목의 편성, 특수성을 고려하지 않은 교육시간, 교육자격을 갖추지 못한 교육대상의 문제점이 나타났으며, 이러한 문제점을 통해 이 연구에서는 기본적으로 민간조사원에 대한교육은 민간조사원으로 등록하기 위한 실무교육(실무수습교육, 윤리교육 포함)과 민간조사원으로 업무수행을 계속하기 위한 보수교육이 필요하며, 외국의 사례를 토대로 본 연구에서는 전체 약 80시간의 기본교육을 제안하였다. 또한교육대상의 제한에 있어, 우리나라는 법률의 정비가 미비한 실정에서 부적격자를 배제할 수 있는 방안을 반드시 마련해야 하며, 이는 자격제도의 형평성에 비추어 볼 때 현행 경비지도사의 결격사유를 바탕으로 민간조사원의 대상 기준을 마련해야 하는 것으로 판단된다. 결론적으로 볼 때 지금까지의 민간조사업에 대한 부정적인 측면은 개선하고, 체계적인 연구와 교육훈련에 관한 프로그램을 개발하여 전문적인 교육훈련 통한 민간조사원의 육성은 민간조사제도의 양적･질적 성장에 큰 작용을 할 것이며, 이를 위해서 대학을 중심으로 인재를 배출하고 관련 협회 및 기관에서는 연구를 위한 협력이 구축되어야 함이 시급한 정책적 과제라 할 수 있을 것이다.Though private investigator training programs in Korea have yet to be institutionalized, the present study attempted to examine the private investigator training programs of foreign countries and those of Korea. This research compared and further explored the private investigator programs of Korea with the information provided by various private investigator associations. Here, we report a comprehensive account of the present state of the private investigator programs of Korea, and aim to find implications it has on matters concerning policies needed for the institutionalization, and the settlement of a private investigator system. The results showed the need and importance of training programs and education for the job performance of the private investigators, and in several foreign countries, educational programs for a professionalized education, and a certification system for the private investigators were in operation. In Korea, several associations have individual certifying systems that come after the training programs, also provided by the individual associations. This shows that there is a need to develop an educational system as well as an educational program for a professional certifying system to exist. We also suggest that for an official certification system to exist, it needs an organized professional educational course. Our study also found that the private investigator training programs of foreign countries and Korea differ in that the current Korean system falls short in the following areas: a curriculum that lacks professionalism, the duration of the education does not take the unique characteristics of the job into consideration, and subjects that lack qualification. Therefore, we suggest that there is a need for a total of 80 hours of basic educational training, and it should include practical training (on-the-job training, ethic education) for registering as a private investigator, and supplementary training that will come after the registration. Also, taking the yet incomplete legal system into consideration, the need of a measure to eliminate those who are unqualified is pivotal. Furthermore, in order for the qualification system to be impartial, standards regarding the ‘grounds for disqualification’ of those who register to be private investigators should be based on a similar qualification system as that of private security supervisors.

Knowledge Management in Criminal Investigations: The Case of Fraud Examiners

The activity of private investigations by fraud examiners is a business of lawyers, auditors and other professionals who investigate suspicions of financial crime by white-collar criminals. Private investigations represent an interesting and unique field of knowledge management. In this paper, a number of private internal investigation reports or cases are evaluated in terms of their knowledge management approaches. The core message from all cases evaluated is that a contingent knowledge management approach is needed in internal investigations. The situation should determine what kind of knowledge to apply in a specific investigative challenge. Legal knowledge seems to dominate many investigations, where forensic accounting knowledge and management consulting knowledge might have been more appropriate.

Limits to private internal investigations of white-collar crime suspicions: The case of Scandinavian bank Nordea in tax havens

This article provides insight on private investigations in the corporate sector using the case study of Scandinavian bank Nordea in tax havens based on leakage of Panama papers in 2016. The article...

Key terms and concepts for investigation: a reference for criminal, private, and military investigators

Key terms and concepts for investigation: a reference for criminal, private, and military investigators