Covertly Exposing Corruption Safeguarded Shareholders’ Interests

Two years after acquiring a new company for his group of international cyber security companies, the director of the group received anonymous tips from two unrelated individuals about corruption at the newly acquired company.

According to the tips, the VP of marketing had sought out and accepted bribes from some of the company’s suppliers in order to renew their contracts.

The Sensitivity of Acting on Anonymous Tips

The director hired us to look into the allegations, uncover the truth behind these accusations and provide a solution to efficiently handle the situation if necessary.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation, we handled the case with extreme caution. 

If the tips were true, we had to obtain concrete proof in order to confront the VP and carry out any action discretely with minimal impact on the operation of the company.

On the other hand, If the tips were inaccurate, it was crucial that no one knew that our comprehensive investigation took place.

In response to the client’s request, our team of professional analysts assembled a comprehensive list of all possible suppliers the subject had come into contact with during the last two years, including those with which the company no longer worked.

By using several intelligence collection methods, our analysts determined four of the listed suppliers to be the most pertinent and sent our undercover agents to investigate further.

The Findings

The agents were told by two of the suppliers that the subject asked them for a bribe. When they refused to cooperate, their contracts were not renewed and were given to a different supplier.

In addition, a representative from a third supplier revealed to our agent that the subject received $50K in cash from the company in order to renew a $1.5M contract.

After being confronted and hearing the recordings of the conversations that resulted from our investigation, the subject agreed to leave the company quietly and without any severance pay, thus saving the company a considerable expense, avoiding a potential PR crisis and preserving their credibility and reputation in the market. 

Lesson Learned

It is crucial to examine any suspicions you might have of bribery or any sort of misconduct within your company quickly to contain the situation before it spirals out of control.

Such scenarios can cause severe harm to the company, both internally and externally, especially if such suspicions reach sources you have no control over, like the press, police or tax authorities.

Seeking the services of experts on revealing internal misconduct in a discreet and timely manner can help you protect yourself as the owner of the company, as well as company shareholders.

If you encounter such a scenario or have any questions, contact us for a consultation