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Data Mining

A leading global management consulting business was plagued by suspicious telephone calls.

The callers, using an array of guises and deception sought information about personnel, projects and clients. The more information the perpetrators acquired, the more convincing and credible they became. It transpired that the callers, who skilfully played one company against another, had also obtained proprietary information regarding the client's client base.

Linx International was instructed via the client's lawyers to investigate. It was soon established that the problem was far more widespread than originally first thought. Linx International established the offending company was a 24-hour operation conducting successful information raids against many well known but unsuspecting companies. The targeted companies were mainly located in Europe, Australia and the USA - without exception the targetted organisations, including banks, were household names.

The offending company sold the illicitly obtained information to a leading US manufacturer of IT products which paid a seven figure sum in fees over a twelve month period. Litigation followed, court orders obtained and premises were searched. The matter was finally concluded with a substantial out of court settlement in favour of our client, who has since contracted Linx International to provide appropriate training to its entire secretarial and communications staff. (See Training Courses)

See also Investigation and Research Services

Theft & Drug Misuse

The client, a leading Civil Engineering company working on a £350m construction project suspected it was suffering substantial thefts of steel and other materials.

The client company suspected a sub-contracted firm and Linx International was instructed to launch a covert investigation. Through the use of undercover operatives and infiltration of the main workforce, the surveillance operation revealed the primary thief was a manager employed by the client company. The sub-contracted firm was completely exonerated.

The investigation also revealed a number of other crime and malpractice issues and produced evidence of widespread drug abuse, theft, fraudulent payments to suppliers, forged heavy plant competency permits and other serious breaches in Health & Safety regulations. As a result, in excess of thirty employees were dismissed without any redress and the company avoided the risk of prosecution by statutory bodies.

At the conclusion of this project the client company contracted Linx International to provide Drug Awareness Training to its middle and senior site management. (See Training Courses)

See also Investigation and Research Services

Breach of Contract

The client, a multi-national manufacturer of industrial safety equipment was surprised at the sudden departure of two of its key employees, a Sales Manager and senior R & D Technician.

Anecdotal evidence indicated the former employees had been in contact with one the client's plastics suppliers. Exit interviews did not take place however, rather than ignoring their former employees' unexpected resignations, the company sought advice from its external lawyers who had written the contracts of employment. The lawyers recommended that Linx International undertake discreet inquiries to establish the former employees' activities.

In a classic 'sting' operation Linx International uncovered the true extent of the former employees' activities and their intent to compete against their former employer. It was established that the two former employees had formed a company in their respective wives maiden names and for several months they had systematically stolen design and sales data from their employer. They had clearly breached the terms of their contract and had obtained funding and assistance for their new enterprise from the plastics supplier to manufacture equipment based on the stolen designs, which they had slightly modified. Their plan was to manufacture a range of products in direct competition with their former employers.

The evidence obtained by Linx International enabled the client to swiftly seek the appropriate protections through the Courts and minimise the potentially serious impact to its business. The matter concluded with substantial damages awarded to our client and judgements against the two offending former employees and the subsequent collapse of their new business venture.

See also Investigation and Research Services

Pre-Employment Vetting

The clients, trustees of a national registered charity, were looking to appoint a new treasurer and chief fundraiser.

Potential candidates were identified and the Chairman of the Trustees asked Linx International to conduct background checks on all short listed applicants.

One applicant, highlighted as the most suitable to the post, possessed a CV that was, at first glance, impressive. However, discreet inquiries revealed the applicant had been employed by an undeclared charity from which he had been dismissed following a Charities Commission investigation into serious accounting anomalies. Additionally it was established the applicant was known to have a history of aggressive behaviour towards co-workers caused by alcohol misuse. The candidate's application was politely rejected.

See also Pre-Employment Vetting

Breach of Copyright

The client, a UK Government Agency, suspected serious copyright infringements by a FTSE 100 subsidiary company.

Working in conjunction with the client's external lawyers, Linx International undertook significant investigations and located key witnesses, thereby securing vital evidence that proved the client's case. The legal action brought against the defendant company resulted in a last minute settlement on the steps of the High Court. The defendant company agreed to pay the client £20 million to cover Intellectual Property violations, damages and costs.

See also Litigation and Support Services

Joint Venture

The client, a FTSE quoted international utilities company, entered joint venture discussions with a privately owned energy company based in the Philippines.

Linx International was contracted to undertake a detailed due diligence exercise into the company and senior executive officers. Combining with high-level and discrete local sources Linx International was able to provide the client with accurate data and antecedent history, which enabled the client to appreciate there were several unacceptable risks associated with the third party, enabling them to conclude negotiations and withdraw from the multi-million dollar partnership proposal.

See also Due Diligence

 Directors Deceived

An ambitious young manager, said to be destined for topflight management, made allegations of malpractice against one of his supervisors.

The HR Director (in conjunction with the Operations Director) conducted an internal investigation that led to the dismissal of the supervisor - primarily due to the testimony of the manager. The manager subsequently received death threats and a Linx International was asked to advise and subsequently to investigate. The independent investigation established the dismissed supervisor had actually uncovered strong evidence linking his line manager to serious fraud. However, the original investigating Directors had failed to demonstrate any sense of impartiality or even consider other possible scenarios. The manager had in fact fabricated evidence and deceived his Directors into dismissing the potential 'whistleblower'. During interviews with Linx International, the manager confessed and was dismissed. The Directors' reputations within the organisation were severely tarnished and the unfairly dismissed Supervisor, with Union support, accepted a very substantial financial settlement as part of a compromise agreement compounding the six figure losses already caused by the corrupt manager.

See also Workplace Investigations