Our Insights
Managing the Cyber Storm, Making Order Out of Chaos
The gloves have come off in cyberspace: nation states, ransomware groups, and organized cyber-criminal organizations are taking sides. Industry professionals continue to see the targeting of multinational technology companies, cyber defense solutions, and trusted identity platforms. Over the past month,read more
Not So Elementary, My Dear Watson: Complying with International Sanctions
As seasoned investigators, we are routinely engaged by our clients to carry out due diligence investigations to minimize the risk of exposure to sanctioned parties. These parties include individuals/companies appearing on government blacklists such as the US Office of Foreignread more
Will Japan’s Economic Security Push Trigger a Paradigm Shift in Its Due Diligence Mindset?
Amid growing concerns about Chinese espionage and threats to Japan’s supply chains laid bare by geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made economic security a signature policy item ahead of upper house parliamentary electionsread more
Environmental Accounting Requires More Than Just Auditors—It Also Needs Investigators
As shown during COP26—the UN Climate Change Conference—in Glasgow this past fall, the role financial markets can play in ending dependence on fossil fuels engenders heated discussion and debate. UBS recently estimated that $140 trillion will be spent to realizeread more
‘Everyone Has to Give Blood Sometime’: Lessons for Theranos Investors
Chief among the questions raised by the criminal fraud conviction of Elizabeth Holmes, at least among investigators who assess risk for a living, is: “What steps could investors have taken to avoid being victimized by the Theranos fraud?” In aread more
China Evergrande: Managing the Risk of a Black Box Economy
With the high–profile struggles of real estate giant China Evergrande Group in the news, long–time China market watchers can be forgiven for feeling a touch of déjà vu. This week the company reportedly defaulted on over USD 300 billion ofread more
ESG Due Diligence: A New Class of Risk
The rapid rise of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework as a measure of corporate performance is remaking global business. Regulators around the world are rewriting the playbook for political and market demands that companies report their environmental andread more
South Dakota—the new Liechtenstein? What the Pandora Papers Say about US Fiscal Paradises
In mythology, Pandora opened her box and released all manner of evil into the world. Just as Prometheus warned against what might come, the recent revelations of the Pandora Papers — a leak of millions of documents from 14 offshoreread more
The Investigator’s Endgame: Finding Success Without Compromising Ethics
Modern day investigators have the luxury of seemingly endless technological resources that allow them to investigate in ways that Sherlock Holmes could have only dreamed of. The gift of modern technology and all its bells and whistles does come withread more
Enticement and Dissonance: Wall Street Bets on China in Spite of Tensions
Amid worsening US-China relations, US financial institutions are doubling down on the world’s second largest economy. Enticed by China’s loosening of foreign ownership rules in the financial sector, American financial institutions are pursuing an unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on theread more
Biden’s Central American Anti-Corruption Campaign and Implications for US Businesses
Last month, US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Guatemala in her role overseeing diplomatic efforts aimed at reducing migration pressures in the Northern Triangle of Central America. Vice President Harris had a stark message for the Honduran, Salvadoran, and Guatemalanread more
The More Things Change, The More Things Need to Change: Competing in an Unregulated Environment
The last twenty years have seen tremendous changes in how we interact, both personally and professionally. Social media and crowdfunding have, to varying degrees, impacted our daily lives. There is no question that these platforms have had a positive effect:read more
As Shareholder Activists Flex Their Muscles, What Lessons for Japan, Inc?
Anyone who thought shareholder activism would never take root in Japan had a rude awakening at Toshiba’s extraordinary general meeting last month. An investor revolt on March 18 saw Singapore-based activist fund Effissimo Capital Management, the largest shareholder of theread more
The Old Boys’ Network is Failing
Former Covid vaccine czar Moncef Slaoui’s departure from various corporate positions following sexual harassment allegations and the continued calls for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation following allegations of bullying, inappropriate comments, and unwanted touching, are only two of theread more
January 6 and Beyond: Understanding the New Social Media Landscape
The storming of the US Capitol on January 6 shocked the nation and laid bare the dangerous consequences that online radicalization poses to American democracy. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in his Senate confirmation hearing on February 22, declared that domesticread more
The “Robinhood Effect” on Due Diligence
Until recently, many Wall Street professionals viewed individual retail investors as minor players in the equity market with little power to drive share prices. That assumption was finally put to bed by the astonishing surge (and subsequent crash) of onceread more
The EU’s Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence: Be Prepared, Not Worried
The idea that businesses should take care not to engage in or enable human rights violations in their overseas operations is not novel. Corporate social responsibility is a principle that has been around nearly as long as corporations themselves, andread more
Modern Risks Demand Modern Due Diligence
The notion that financial institutions and other commercial actors should take reasonable precautions to avoid facilitating criminal activities—today commonly referred to as “due diligence”—has its origins in early twentieth-century efforts to combat money laundering in casinos by organized crime groups.read more
Hack & Sell Short: A New Cyber Threat
A recent piece in the Financial Times drew attention to the potential for short sellers to drive down a company’s share value by conspiring with hackers to attack a target company’s IT systems. The author of the article made theread more
PPE Fraud: Buyer Beware
Among the many consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is the unprecedented demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), typically used by medical professionals, but which now has become a life-or-death necessity for people around the world. This frenzied demand has revealedread more
China-Led Trade Agreement Symbolizes Challenges Facing Biden Administration in Asia
Largely drowned out by post-US election vitriol and new waves of COVID-19 infections, a significant China-led economic milestone in Asia-Pacific was reached on November 15. The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”)—creating the world’s largest trading bloc—is aread more
FCPA Defendants Shouldn’t Take the Heat Alone
These days, when it comes to enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the buck often stops at an individual executive’s desk, not at the door of the company’s legal department. For those in the prosecutorial crosshairs, personal exposureread more
Blind Followers: Popular Misconceptions About Surveillance
Inspector Javert may not have been a kind man, but he was a thorough professional, the right man to infiltrate the students’ movement and to help quash the Paris Uprising of 1832. He did as he promised when, in theread more
Don’t Let the Pandemic Launch Your New Product For You
With an economy stalled by the pandemic, companies are keeping new products under wraps and waiting for a better time to launch. But the longer new product campaigns are delayed, the more vulnerable they become to having specs leaked toread more
Private Eyes & Public Profiles: The Ethics of Using Social Media in Investigations
As the events—both inconsequential and monumental—in people’s lives have spread onto Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, TikTok, and other platforms, a record has been created of comings and goings, personal opinions and piques, that can be a trove for private investigators.read more
Malaise Till Kingdom Come: Pro-Democracy Protests Push Thailand Into Uncharted Territory
A mass of university students giving the three-fingered Hunger Games salute. Calls for democracy and the end of authoritarian rule. A grassroots movement without a political party whose preferred organizing tools are social media groups and encrypted messenger applications. Onread more
Impeaching the Credibility of a Government Witness
In most criminal trials, the testimony of a cooperating witness is a key, if not essential, part of the government’s case. No one knows the facts of a criminal conspiracy better than a participant in that conspiracy, or so theread more
Using Investigators in Workouts, Restructurings, and Bankruptcies
Given the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus, experts expect a tidal wave of bankruptcies. We are already seeing the growing crest of that wave with Chapter 11 filings by household names such as Neiman Marcus, JCPenney, J.Crew, Hertz, andread more
China Watching Leadership Tussle Within Japan’s Ruling Party for Policy Recalibration
With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s third term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) expiring in September 2021, China will be keeping a close eye on the political machinations that could determine whether his successor recalibrates Japan’s approachread more
Sovereign Asset Tracing: A Whole New World
Finding and successfully attaching sovereign assets often seems impossibly daunting. With seemingly endless resources and the protections of legal concepts like sovereign immunity, sovereign states and their leaders are well–insulated from monetary judgments. Now, however, new transparency policies, recent legalread more
Global Realities: How to Intelligently Rethink Supply Chains
The COVID–19 pandemic has made real for many US companies a concern long held by US national security experts: for industries dependent on key materials solely manufactured in China, the country is a single point of failure, where any breakdownread more
Hong Kong’s Summer of Discontent 2.0
Last week’s opening of the annual plenary meetings of the National People’s Congress (“NPC”) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference included an unwelcome surprise for Hong Kong: the announcement that the NPC will enact national security legislation in theread more
Private Investigators and the GDPR: Be Careful What You Ask For—You May Get It
Two years after the implementation of the most ambitious privacy regime in history, data protection agencies remain woefully understaffed, with referrals growing and resources lagging far behind, according to a complaint filed recently with the European Commission. Yet, while theyread more
ESG: Activists’ New BFF
For 33 years, Lee Raymond has served on the board of directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co. But, according to a recent op–ed in The New York Times by environmentalist Bill McKibben, it’s time for him to go. His re–electionread more
Heads Up: Short Sellers Are Not Quarantined
Having conducted numerous short seller investigations over the past 20 years, I was interested in the recent Wall Street Journal report that short sales hit their highest level since 2016 despite the fact that—as the market sustained large losses fromread more
China Plus 10? In the Wake of COVID–19, Manufacturers Will Face an Ever More Diffuse World
Within the lexicon of global business, few expressions have gained as much currency in recent years as “China Plus One.” Often employed as a catch–all distillation of the tectonic shifts occurring in global manufacturing, the term fares less well asread more
The Cyber Threat Epidemic
As organizations struggle to meet the challenges of the COVID–19 pandemic, they should be clear–eyed in evaluating the cyber risks facing them. In the rush to implement widespread remote working, IT teams are being stretched thin. Anxious for accurate informationread more
What Do Gumshoes Do When They Can’t Pound the Pavement?
The film noir image of the hard–bitten private eye does not feature him (and it is always a him) sitting at his desk looking through documents. He is out and about, whether following the bad guysread more
Nardello & Co.’s Checklist for Using Zoom Securely
As businesses shift to widespread remote–working arrangements, they rely heavily on online meeting platforms, like Zoom™. Nardello & Co.’s Digital Investigations and Cyber Defense Practice has put together a checklist to help you reduce the risk of Zoom meeting compromisesread more
The Gloves Are Coming Off as Shareholder Activists Look Towards Europe: How Companies Can Prepare to Fight Back
While shareholder activism has historically been a US affair, it is starting to put down deep roots in Europe. In recent years, hedge funds’ underperformance relative to equities, combined with their contested fee structure and institutional investors’ increasing acceptance forread more
Batten Down the Hatches: The “Perfect Storm” for White Collar Crime is About to Hit China
After breaking up a fraud ring inside his US company’s operations in China, “Peter” (as I shall refer to him here) hardly had the chance to draw breath before discovering a separate group of coworkers engaged in the same scheme—fakingreadread more
Defending Against Shareholder Activist Attacks: Identifying Their Vulnerabilities (And Yours, Too)
Activist investors typically target a company due to perceived performance issues, questioning the merits of a company’s business strategy and lamenting weak shareholder returns. Such criticism is certainly fair game for any shareholder, and all companies should be prepared toread more
Finding the Skeletons in Your Closet—Before the Media Does
Front pages across America lit up in early February with the revelation that Virginia governor Ralph Northam was indeed one of those in a college yearbook photo showing one white person dressed in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan regalia.1 Justreadread more
On the Brink of Regime Change in Venezuela, Here’s Why Creditors Should Still Worry
With regime change in Venezuela appearing imminent, international creditors and companies seeking compensation for government expropriations may feel more hopeful about their chances of recovery than at any time in recent memory. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, these hopesread more
Japan’s Attempts to Help Banks Vet Yakuza Links Fall Short
When Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) announced last January that it would allow Japanese banks to vet potential customers against its closely held database of organized crime or yakuza members, the news was met with cautious optimism. The yakuza – officially referredread more
Hot Topics and Current Trends in Public Corruption Investigations
Investigating and charging public officials for corruption is not new, but the number of arrests, charges, and convictions of public officials has increased rapidly over the last few years. With an eye to what is prevalent, this article will exploreread more
“Safeguarding” Aid Workers: The Importance of Rooting Out Bad Actors
A recent series of alarming revelations of widespread sexual misconduct by international aid workers – both against other workers and aid recipients – and attempts to cover up the scandals are fueling unprecedented pressure on aid organizations to step upread more
What China’s New Anti-Corruption Agency Means for Foreign Firms
China’s creation of a National Supervisory Commission, passed into law on 20 March 2018, marks the birth of a powerful new state body with broad powers to tackle bribery and abuse of office throughout the public sector. This potentially spellsread more
Keeping Predators Out of the Corner Office
Not every noxious cloud has a silver lining, but the recent rash of sexual misconduct allegations and scandals, catalyzed by the revelations about Harvey Weinstein, has had several. In addition to exposing and hopefully uprooting a culture of silence, itread more
The New Cyber Reality: A Perpetual State of Breach
Just as individuals and organizations were digesting the implications of the massive Equifax data breach, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped another cyber-bombshell last week, announcing a serious compromise in 2016 of “EDGAR,” the Commission’s system for housing documentsread more
The Equifax Data Breach – What You Need To Know
In the wake of Equifax Inc.’s recent data breach announcement, inpiduals and corporations around the world are asking “What does this mean for me?” and, more importantly, “What should I do about it?” What Happened On Sept. 7, 2017, Equifaxread more
The Case for Lateral Partner Due Diligence
A law firm’s reputation is built on the conduct of its partners. Firms have traditionally promoted from within, a thoughtful and incremental process. Today, however, it has become much more common to recruit partner-level candidates from competitors. Lateral recruiting canread more
Conducting Corporate Investigations in Africa
With some exceptions, corporate investigations in Africa present greater challenges and complexities than typically found in North America or Western Europe. While generalisation is dangerous in a continent of 55 jurisdictions with varying economic, political, social and linguistic characteristics, thereread more
Uber’s Rogue Investigators Cause Federal Judge’s Temper to Surge
Judge Jed Rakoff’s decision issued on July 25th in the Meyer v. Kalanick case pending in the Southern District of New York serves as a reminder of the ethical rule that as an attorney, the actions of your investigator areread more
Corporate Spies Must Toe the Line
Private investigators don’t do what Hollywood would have you think they do. Not legally, at least. They can’t smack people around, like Sam Spade did in The Maltese Falcon, or sneak into crime scenes, like Philip Marlowe did in theread more
Two Cheers for the Modern Slavery Act?
Though more than 150 years have passed since the abolition of slavery in the United Kingdom, there are an estimated 21 to 35 million people working under slave-like conditions globally. In a recent attempt to address this shameful statistic, theread more
Murky Waters: Navigating Business & Politics in Asia
Politics and business intertwine in a unique way in Asia, where state-run economies, crony capitalism and social networks prevail. These three forces are present across the region, though they manifest differently from country to country; understanding their influence is essentialread more
Implications of the Panama Papers for Panama and Beyond
When the Panama Papers were first revealed last month, the country of Panama found itself at the center of a world-wide storm of financial disclosures. The largest data leak in history, the Panama Papers encompass 11.5 million documents from aread more
Investigative Due Diligence: Beyond Google
Due diligence has become a standard component of most major business transactions. Anti-corruption laws, such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act, and anti-money laundering laws, such as the US Patriot Act, place an onusread more
Independent Investigation into NYU Abu Dhabi Campus Allegations
As you may have seen, on April 16th we issued our report summarizing the results of our investigation into allegations made by several news organizations and NGOs about abusive labor practices for the thousands of migrant workers involved in buildingread more
Wasta: Connections or Corruption in the Arab World
In the wake of the Arab Spring, corruption has become one of the Arab World’s most talked about problems. Islam strictly prohibits corruption and there are undoubtedly many in the Arab World who take the Quran’s injunction seriously: “And doread more