Just over six months ago, a property dealer decided to disregard his contract with a major property plc and misrepresent himself, which, undetected, could have netted him a multimillion pound fraudulent bonus. Fortunately, our clients were tipped off, and prudently decided to conduct a thorough and focused professional investigation.
Directors often express surprise at how prolific transmitting devices (bugs) are in the marketplace. The concept of being bugged is indigestible to many, but the facts speak for themselves. Hundreds of thousands of covert listening devices are bought in the UK each year, all supposedly for private and corporate concerns. The simple rule of thumb is that it is legal to listen, if you own the phone.
I was recently overseeing a Fraud Investigation in which it was revealed that a majority shareholder had made decisions, which were not in the best interests of the company. My clients were the other very concerned directors. The majority shareholder had been looking after his own long term interests at the expense of the company and the case involved the purchase of a freehold, which the company occupied.
