A large US manufacturing company with a worldwide customer base engaged TDI to design and conduct a US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance program. The client relied on contracts with local vendors to distribute its products in approximately 60 countries on six continents. In order to protect its reputation and comply with US law, the client’s corporate counsel engaged TDI to verify that these distributors were legitimate companies and that they were not engaging in business practices (e.g. bribery) that violated the FCPA.

Using local public records and proprietary databases, TDI verified the contact information for each vendor. TDI then leveraged its network of local sources to visit each distributor, verify operations and conduct inquiries with local law enforcement and regulatory officials regarding reputation and financial stability. TDI reported the findings from each investigation to the client in writing and via a verbal briefing.

In most cases the distributors were found to be in full compliance with the FCPA. However, in instances where there was cause for concern, the client tasked TDI to conduct a further, more in-depth investigation to determine whether the client needed to sever its relationship with a distributor and/or report an FCPA violation to the US Department of Justice.

When a US private equity firm's overseas partners stole several million dollars in investment capital, TDI was engaged to conduct a multi-jurisdictional asset tracing investigation. TDI traced asset movements by the overseas partners through banks in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean and identified an equivalent amount of assets currently owned by the subjects. TDI then worked with the client's legal team and with local law enforcement to file criminal and civil charges against the individuals who stole the money.

In anticipation of hurricane impact to Gulf of Mexico energy production, TDI was engaged to identify, assess and monitor infrastructure damage and rehabilitation initiatives on a real-time basis. Air and ground-based reconnaissance capabilities were deployed to monitor recovery efforts and analyze findings. In many cases, TDI was on-site before the asset owners.

A major US technology company suspected one of its subcontractors was leaking proprietary information to hackers. The client believed that the subcontractor, an information security company, was trying to increase the client’s dependence upon the subcontractor, whose contract was up for renewal. The client filed suit and engaged TDI to research the subcontractor’s activities. TDI developed evidence of ongoing ties to the online hacker community and identified both the source of the leaks and the means by which they were leaked, allowing the client to engage law enforcement and to improve internal security procedures.

TDI was engaged when a client suspected that a competitor was behind a major economic espionage effort against their product. TDI identified the involved parties and, through an online and physical investigation, provided specific evidence of how and by whom the theft was being conducted. Armed with this information, the client’s law firm was able to pursue an aggressive deposition, discovery and witness subpoena effort. Meanwhile, the client was able to employ TDI’s information to expose the piracy and build a formidable public relations strategy.

TDI conducted a comprehensive FCPA compliance review for a US consumer electronics manufacturer of the client’s authorized retailers in Brazil. During the course of this review, TDI learned that Brazilian law enforcement was investigating one of these retailers and was preparing a raid on the retailer’s business premises. As a result, TDI was able to proactively work with the client’s general counsel to quickly sever the relationship with the retailer and prepare press statements in anticipation of negative publicity.

TDI conducted a pre-transaction due diligence review of a proposed port acquisition in Colombia on behalf of a US client. TDI conducted a discreet investigation of officials at the port operating company to identify any derogatory information that could jeopardize the client’s reputation after finalizing the acquisition. Specifically, TDI reviewed law enforcement and civil court records and discreetly consulted local law enforcement officials to identify any ties between the Colombian port and organized crime, narcotics trafficking operations, paramilitary groups, etc. TDI also performed a security and vulnerability assessment of the port’s operations to identify potential threats that would need to be addressed by the client following completion of the acquisition.

TDI conducted a 14-month program to support strategic decision-making processes for a multinational energy company with substantial operating assets throughout South America. The program was designed to identify, assess and respond to regional security threats and political-economic risks specific to government fiscal policies, with a principal focus on Argentina and Brazil. The program gave the client sufficient time to hedge its exposures and thus protect its’ assets from decisions taken by the national governments.

TDI conducted an investigation of an online intellectual property piracy operation based in the Caribbean. TDI identified the physical location of the piracy operation’s software development operations and its employees. TDI performed targeted, covert physical surveillance of company executives, employees and suspected manufacturing and warehouse locations over a period of five months. With the client’s authorization, TDI shared its findings with local political and law enforcement sources.

TDI conducted a fraud investigation of a US businessman in the Caribbean. The businessman owned a local hotel and casino and was using the casino to support a Venezuelan money laundering operation. TDI developed information on the casino’s operations and identified video evidence of illegal activities. With the client’s authorization, TDI shared this information with local government officials and with investigative journalists locally and in the US.

A European political party engaged TDI to represent it in Europe and the US, resulting in a campaign to publicize the party’s platform in major US and European media outlets. TDI arranged meetings between party officials and key political and economic opinion leaders in the US and Europe, resulting in declared support from high-level government officials. This campaign bolstered the client’s international and domestic prestige, ultimately contributing to success in national elections.

A multinational energy company engaged TDI to identify the source of a sudden supply disruption of coal to a European port. TDI successfully identified the source of the supply disruption and accurately assessed the current and future status of the region’s transport infrastructure. Having acquired critical information on the political situation, the likelihood of a return of supply was determined.

TDI conducted a due diligence and FCPA compliance investigation for a US client prior to its entry into a major venture in the Russian Far East. TDI developed a thorough background profile on the Russian partner, detailing the CEO’s close ties to a major Russian organized crime group and his use of members of the group to manage security at his facilities. TDI also documented incidents where the CEO had threatened and/or carried out violent actions against former business partners. TDI provided sufficient evidence for the company to agree to back out of the pending deal.

TDI provided ongoing, rolling reporting regarding political and economic developments in Ukraine to a western energy client that would impact the company’s commercial activities. This involved ongoing political risk analysis in Ukraine and neighboring countries, commercial assessments of the Ukrainian marketplace and regulatory environment, and investigative due diligence into the client’s partners and business agents in Ukraine.

TDI designed and implemented an information collection program to support strategic decision-making processes for an international energy company operating in highly contentious emerging markets throughout the CIS. The program identified, assessed and responded to developing security, political, regulatory and economic risks and opportunities within the company’s operating environment. The program’s reporting was derived from former US and foreign government contacts, high level political operatives, regulatory sources, select private sector contractors and specialized industry sources.

TDI conducted a due diligence and FCPA compliance investigation, as well as provided strategic advice to a client examining a potential investment in a Kazakh copper smelter. TDI learned that the smelter’s owner had recently made significant loans to the Kazakh government that were unlikely to be paid, putting the financial security of the smelter at risk. TDI also determined that the smelter had confiscated the shares of a previous Western investor, freezing the Western company out of the Russian and Kazakh metals industries. Based on the information, the client did not proceed with the investment.

TDI investigated ongoing corruption allegations against a sub-contractor of a major lending institution. The subcontractor had never been charged and had repeatedly maintained its innocence. TDI’s investigation determined that the subcontractor and its management team had engaged in systemic bribery and corruption to win lucrative contracts in several countries. TDI identified networks of local contacts and companies that the subcontractor used to conduct business, thereby exerting significant pressure on local decision-making entities without being directly involved in the process. TDI discovered that the subcontractor’s contacts in one country had bribed local officials to secure their votes for the subcontractor’s project proposals, and that the subcontractor had similarly positioned itself with allies and officials to win future government contracts in other countries.

TDI worked in concert with a major European public relations firm to provide strategic advisory services to an influential African politician who had been denied entry to several Western countries.  TDI prepared presentations to senior government officials that provided a more complete understanding of the events that had led to the client’s visa denials. TDI also connected the politician to expert legal representation in Washington and worked with counsel on developing the subsequent legal strategy. Finally, TDI developed an interactive website – complete with original documents, photographs and previously unpublished information that refuted many of the charges that had been made against the client by political opponents and economic competitors.

A US energy client had a $450 million investment in oil and gas E&P and a growing interest in downstream operations in a West African country.  The country, which had never undergone a peaceful political transition, was facing a leadership succession crisis.  The client engaged TDI to determine its exposures and develop strategies to reduce them.

TDI conducted a due diligence and FCPA compliance investigation for a US insurance company on a North African businessman whom the client wanted to be its country representative. TDI determined that the businessman had a very close professional relationship to the president’s son and had financed the construction of a home for him. The businessman had also secretly represented the president’s family in several business ventures. Based on TDI’s findings and concerns over the FCPA, the client did not engage the businessman.

A multinational energy company employed TDI to monitor the rapidly changing threat conditions in the Middle East, specific to assets and due diligence requirements in Morocco, UAE and Saudi Arabia. In this particular case, TDI provides terrorism threat warning specific to the local area in advance of government warnings.

A US company engaged TDI to conduct an FCPA and reputational investigation on three Chinese copper companies, all of which were potential investment targets.

TDI leveraged a variety of sources that were directly familiar with the companies and their reputations, as well as sources that could access their official financial data.  TDI reported that one of the companies was politically well-connected, but only marginally profitable and in need of significant modernization.  TDI found that the second company made high-quality products but was not well managed; its general manager was facing a state investigation on corruption charges.  TDI reported that the third subject company enjoyed a high-level of political support, particularly at the provincial level, and that it enjoyed a reputation for producing high-quality products, despite its high debt load.

TDI developed a program to monitor the import, export and storage of petroleum products and distillates (e.g. crude oil, jet fuel, refined oil, etc.) at eight key Chinese ports. TDI provided this information to its client, a US energy company, on a monthly basis to support its operations. TDI’s information proved to be more timely and accurate than widely available commercial sources.

A Fortune 100 consumer products company engaged TDI to investigate allegations of fraudulent activity at its offices in South Korea. The company’s US headquarters had received complaints that local representatives were demanding bribes and favors in exchange for contracts. The customers threatened to take the allegations to Korean and US government authorities if immediate action was not taken.

TDI immediately dispatched local sources to interview and obtain signed affidavits from client customers regarding the allegations. This step demonstrated that the client was taking action to stop the fraudulent activity and put customers “on the record” regarding the allegations. TDI simultaneously conducted an independent investigation of the allegations and the parties involved. Based on the evidence, TDI advised the client that the allegations appeared to be true. The client used TDI’s findings and client interviews to sever its relationship with and prosecute its former representatives.