Investigative and Security Consulting Services for Hedge Funds, Venture Capital Funds,
Private Equity Firms
and other Financial Institutions
Investigations for Hedge Funds, Venture Funds, Private Equity Firms and other Financial Institutions
Our financial affairs are predicated on trust and fair dealing. As world economies continue to fluctuate, the temptation to falsify earnings, overvalue assets, and otherwise manipulate financial reports increases exponentially. Unregulated and misunderstood financial vehicles are breeding grounds for theft, misappropriation and mismanagement. Relying on reputation, a referral or a recommendation alone is no longer a sensible business strategy.
In this environment of increased scrutiny and concern, knowing who you are dealing with, what they do and how they do it is paramount to prudent investing. It is critical to institute or expand your due diligence requirements to determine the true identity and underlying interests of any business agents or associates that your institution conducts business with.
Since 1979, Interfor has performed enhanced due diligence investigations for clients who need comprehensive background information about new investments, business relationships and prospective partners. Our services have been utilized by hedge funds, private equity firms and financial institutions in lieu of or as a supplement to their in-house research and compliance units.
From vetting potential partners in China or South America to ascertaining business relationships from the Netherlands to New Zealand, we assist businesses and their counsel in every corner of the world. Formulating investigative strategies for businesses is a feature of our multi-discipline research and investigative teams. Our unique capabilities have been recognized by corporations, financial institutions and law firms throughout the world.
As a full-service investigative firm, we provide a complete menu of investigative and consulting services. Post-deal, we have assisted companies in examining how business arrangements became impaired, tracking missing monies or assets and in pre-trial intelligence gathering, discovery, trial preparation, witness location and post-judgment asset tracing.
Interfor has the ability to rapidly assemble an integrated, international team of investigators, researchers, fraud examiners and sources that are ready to provide vital, timely and essential services in all manner of situations.
All of our many services are rendered with the Interfor hallmark: diligence, discretion and thoroughness.
IN T E R F O R, IN C. • HE D G E FU N D S
Who you work with is your business---making sure they are credit-worthy is ours.
Enhanced Due Diligence Investigations
Focused Inquries: Performing due diligence investigations on an individual or company with a focus on financial resources, competence and reputation can be critical before making business decisions.
Failure to conduct adequate due diligence could expose an organization to substantial losses and liabilities. The scope of a due diligence investigation may cover:
• the legality of the source of investment funds;
• the transaction or litigation history of a counterparty;
• regulatory issues or inquiries; and
• or other factual inquiries that may be required to complete a transaction. These investigations are particularly critical if the parties are international, or if a proposed venture will operate in parts of the world where business is not adequately protected by contract law, making success heavily dependent on the trust and good faith between the parties.
Types of transactions: Interfor performs enhanced due diligence for clients who need comprehensive background information about new business relationships and prospective partners in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital investments or large loan transactions. All inquiries and findings are strictly confidential and are pursued in compliance with applicable law.
Geographic scope: With extensive sources in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa, Interfor's capabilities are global. All inquiries are conducted with complete discretion and confidentiality by our field investigators, many of whom have been associated with government, defense and intelligence agencies.
Basic Compliance Investigations
Interfor’s basic compliance investigations provide clients with fundamental background checks on parties involved in impending transactions. These investigations include:
• Verification of the subject's identity (address and social security number check to prevent false identification fraud)
• Civil and criminal background check
• Name screening on government terrorist and criminal lists
• Nationwide bankruptcy search
• Property search
• Worldwide media review
• Reputation inquiry
• Professional license and credential verification
• Lien and judgments search
• Whether the targets of their companies are being investigated by government regulatory agency
Enhanced Compliance Investigations
For persons or companies that are redflagged either as a result of Interfor’s basic compliance investigation or because of suspicious activity, Interfor recommends an enhanced compliance investigation. This type of due diligence encompasses all of the basic compliance components, but adds two key elements:
• enhanced, on the ground investigation
• financial profile of the person or company
IN T E R F O R, IN C. • HE D G E FU N D S
Interfor has assets throughout the world and has confidential sources in most countries. When necessary, as part of enhanced compliance investigating, Interfor's field investigators can conduct more comprehensive reputation inquiries by making use of resources and relationships available only at the local level. This includes a verification of all physical assets listed as collateral or otherwise, and contact with local law enforcement personnel, government and industry sources for uncovering relevant information.
Litigation Support
Interfor offers services to ensure thorough litigation preparation in all types of cases. We have worked discreetly and confidentially providing vital intelligence to litigators. Interfor prepares litigants for trial in the pre-litigation, in-litigation and post-litigation stage.
Interfor offers comprehensive, worldwide intelligence and investigative services, including:
• Special factual inquiries
• Witness location
• Evidence gathering
• Pre-discovery intelligence gathering
• Background investigations
• Interviewing witnesses
• Selection, management and vetting of expert witnesses
• Document discovery
• Case preparation
• Asset Investigations
• Post-judgment asset investigations
People in business face a daunting array of legal challenges in today’s environment. These disputes can range from frivolous lawsuits to "bet the company" and “scorched earth” litigation. Whatever the case, you need experienced investigators who can provide sound research and actionable intelligence to guide your course of action.
Interfor’s investigative findings can help legal strategists and businesses decide whether to litigate, negotiate or chart an alternative route to dispute resolution.
We have worked closely with financial institutions, corporate entities and their inside and outside counsel to manage these challenges throughout the world. Our case managers and investigators have been involved with high-profile cases, and we understand the special circumstances of media exposure. The Litigation Support Group has regularly represented parties in major trials in state and federal courts as well as arbitration tribunals in the United States and abroad.
Know Your Customer Investigations
The USA Patriot Act imposes numerous requirements on financial institutions with respect to the quantity and quality of information they need to know about their account holders, including the source of their account holders’ money. For instance, financial institutions are required to institute Anti-Money Laundering Programs, investigate correspondent accounts for foreign banks, conduct enhanced due diligence for certain correspondent accounts with an offshore banking license, discover the source of funds for its private banking accounts and comply with “special measures” to be outlined by the U.S. Treasury Department. In short, financial institutions must perform a full Know Your Customer (“KYC”) review for all its large and/or special accounts.
Interfor’s KYC investigations provide decision makers with detailed knowledge of the history, background, financial status and reputation of new partners worldwide.
Asset Search & Recovery Investigations
Over the past thirty years, Interfor has developed comprehensive techniques to uncover fraud schemes and trace, freeze, and recover hidden assets. Interfor specializes in U.S. and international
IN T E R F O R, IN C. • HE D G E FU N D S
located assets concealed or undisclosed in the U.S., the Caribbean Basin, Switzerland and other offshore "safe havens", Interfor is the recognized world leader in asset search and recovery services.
Interfor's investigations have yielded substantial results; since its inception, Interfor has recovered over $15 billion worldwide for its clients.
Part of Interfor's success lies in the fact that Interfor pioneered the investigative use of available English common law provisional remedies to assist lawyers around the globe in freezing assets. As a result, Interfor has an extensive network of legal experts in various jurisdictions throughout the world with the proven ability to freeze assets and collect on judgments. In addition, Interfor has a staff consisting of former intelligence and investigative professionals throughout the U.S., Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Interfor's global presence has allowed our investigators to follow the movement of money between continents, often exposing multinational shell corporations, previously unidentified assets, and illegal money laundering operations.
Security Services
In addition to our investigative services, Interfor specializes in an array of security services for financial firms, including:
Office Security Assessment: Interfor has perfected a methodology that balances real-world needs with realistic recommendations. Through years of working with a wide range of businesses, we have learned that technological countermeasures and systems are only as strong as the policies,
procedures and training that have been implemented to mitigate threats. Therefore, our review evaluates and tests the human factors that most security systems and programs are built upon. In addition, we fortify our recommendations with scheduled post-testing and evaluations in order to ensure that our recommendations and warnings have been successfully implemented. We have developed an extensive system to assess, analyze, report and test areas of potential and actual vulnerability.
The primary objective of the Office Physical Security Vulnerability Assessment is to observe and analyze areas of potential and/or actual vulnerability, to define causes, and to recommend means to reduce or eliminate exposure. We ensure that the assessment will be catered to your individual and specific needs and allow for the most comprehensive analysis available on the market. The
assessment includes a review of: access control systems and procedures; ingress/egress procedures, intrusion detection systems; application of electronic control systems; physical site analysis; control of sensitive and personal information at the premises; identification procedures; IT procedures; and policies and procedures for household staff.
Information Systems Evaluation: A successful information protection program includes a set of effective security controls that is well-integrated into your everyday activities. Whether your requirements involve individual applications or a business network, we can provide the security, systems integration and information technologies that you need. The most common misperception about information security is that it is acquired with technology alone. In reality, information security comprises three basic elements: people, processes and technology. Our solutions encompass these critical elements of information security.
Security measures must enable you, your family and your staff to function properly while maintaining control of your operations. Risk can never be completely eliminated; however, we can help you identify your level of risk tolerance and achieve an acceptable level of operational confidence. In the end, you must have confidence that at your level of investment, the risks you have are manageable and that your controls are implemented efficiently.
Personal Protection Consulting: In the global marketplace, the security needs of financial executives and high-wealth individuals have become much more sophisticated and in many cases, much more complex. Interfor is equipped to help our clients meet their changing security demands. We can provide our clients with strategic protection options in order to secure meetings, events, public appearances and international travel.
Crisis Management & Threat Mitigation: Interfor works closely with clients to design and implement policies and procedures for effective management in crisis or sensitive situations. We provide strategic consulting expertise in situations involving civil, criminal or governmental litigation and business emergencies. Interfor can also provide investigative resources to protect clients from internal sabotage and other potential threats.
