DUE DILIGENCE INVESTIGATIONS
Business fraud causes losses of over $413 Billion per year in the US alone. The value of corporate critical infrastructure information stolen by information technology (IT) breaches is another $100 Billion. Average losses are 18.6% of total annual revenues per company. These statistics do not include the damages of lost opportunities and sabotaged projects caused by many other risks and threats to business. Corruption inside Fortune 500 corporations is 5 times higher than even governmental corruption in emerging market countries. Approximately 96% of all these economic crimes are initiated, enabled or perpetrated by insiders or contractual business partners.
Due Diligence investigations are the primary line of defense in avoiding such losses and damages to business continuity, cash flow and revenue streams. Professional services on a commercial intelligence level have proven to be more than 95% effective in avoiding, detecting and stopping such economic security breaches. An aggressive due diligence policy, checking almost all key employees, partners and major deals, would cost less than 2% of annual revenues, while the results have proven to prevent the annual loss of at least 17% of revenues. Thus, the cash revenue value of due diligence yields a return of greater than 850% on each dollar spent on economic security.
WJS Finders’ methodology for Due Diligence investigations is both an art and a science. For reliable results, our experienced investigators know exactly what factors to look for, quickly assess or verify the information discovered, and effectively apply seemingly irrelevant or unrelated data to facts or issues that may be discovered at later stages of the investigation. Expert analysis of all information obtained, add essential depth and dimension for more effective results. To give practical benefit for use in real-world business situations, WJS Finders fully explains and interprets the significance of information, and makes practical recommendations.
Due Diligence is traditionally relied upon by corporate and governmental clients for the following purposes:
• Employment screening
• Entrusting current employees with new responsibilities
or key projects
• Engaging a new partner, distributor or major client in commercial
relations
• Concluding any major deals or contracts
• Mergers and Acquisitions
WJS Finders more advanced Competitive Intelligence investigations add several powerful capabilities for enhanced and expanded results, primarily through the involvement of experienced field operatives on relevant territories. This gives maximum depth, detail and dimension necessary to fully understand and adequately deal with all new and potentially threatening business situations.
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Because of the more penetrating methods used, Competitive Intelligence investigations are relied on for any and all of the following processes in the course of normal business operations:
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• Entering a new market or territory
• Expanding operations into new industry sectors
• Developing or launching a new product or service
• Planning strategies to deal with a competitor company
• Developing strategies to neutralize and protect against unfair
competition
• Whenever organized crime involvement or unlawful opposition is
suspected
WJS Finders also provides Forensic investigations, which deliver additional fact finding, law enforcement facilitation and legal analysis results. The primary mission of this more advanced type of investigation is to deal with the consequences and damages resulting from recently discovered or unresolved events, including:
• Theft, fraud or asset stripping
• Breaches of information security
• Unfair competition practices
• Unlawful interference with business relations
• Physical security threats or harm
WJS Finders conducts all Due Diligence and investigations with prudence and discretion, to avoid disclosure of the client’s identity or interests in the information obtained, to avoid awareness by subjects that they are being investigated, and to otherwise avoid client exposure.
WJS Finders through proprietary networks on multiple territories, conducts information collection on a disciplined professional level, providing both corporate and governmental clients with a higher quality work product which meets the standards of national security structures.
Please contact WJS Finders for our Fee Schedule to do DUE Diligence Investigations at wjscheck@vegascitynet.com, VOICE & FAX: USA 702-248-5388, or CELL: USA 702-539-8504.
COMBATING INTERNET INTERNATIONAL TRADE FRAUD
We understand how difficult it can be to try to make a legitimate living trading, when the Internet is peppered with dishonest and fraudulent offers. We know how easy it is to waste months, and even years, attempting to do business with these frauds.
It is to combat this that WJS Finders will conduct a due diligence investigation for you [See the aforesaids for the scope of our due diligence investigations].
Here are some examples of fraud:
PRE-ADVICE LCs
These are demanded as a necessary pre-requisite for obtaining Proof of Product [POP]. No genuine Seller demands any such thing. Anyone who does, you can be sure, possesses nothing. What the fakes do, is promise POP, take the Pre-Advice Letter of Credit [LC], get it discounted (typically at 10-15% of face value) and then disappear!
POP
In any case, you should never accept POP from a Seller. Again, real Sellers will provide it via SGS [www.sgs.com] the world leading inspection, verification, and certification company or similar.
TRANSFERABLE LC
If you think about it, why would a real Supplier want a transferable LC? Why would they want to transfer it to anyone? Really!
MORE NONSENSE!
You ask for previous Bills of Lading [B/L], and are told that they are commercially confidential. Not so! B/Ls are in fact public domain documents (see below). Again, real Sellers will happily provide them, together with full company information, verifiable by Standard & Poors.
You may be unsure that your enquiry will be taken seriously by such large enterprises. But, if it is serious and genuine, why not? Believe it or not, they want to sell their products!
Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order [ICPO], Letter of Intent [LOI], or Bank Capability Letter [BCL] are not always required by sellers.
All Suppliers/sellers allow factory/refinery visits, provide full records and accept non-transferable LCs.
SELLING CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES
The conditions applied by real and verifiable Sellers are vastly preferable to the rigmarole that internet “sellers” expect potential buyers to go through. We strongly recommend that you walk away from any deals involving a transferable L/C. 99% of internet frauds are perpetrated via that instrument, and in all of those cases no POP is ever received.
With Suppliers conditions vary, because so does the credibility of different Buyers. Often, though, Sellers will accept 70% against Bill of Lading, with remainder in 30-60 days. Or 100% against B/L. All non-transferable L/C, naturally!
In fact, if a Buyer is well established, MT103/TT will often suffice. Internet traders will never offer these facilities, because they are forever “winging” it.
We can provide full contact details of real suppliers, together with their financial details, as confirmed by Standard & Poors.
Believe us, when your Buyers become aware that they are dealing, via you, only with very large groups, turning over billions, with offices around the world and perfectly happy to provide track records, a Broker´s life gets a whole lot easier!
BILL OF LADING CHECKING SERVICE
IMB is a division of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) www.icc.org, and offers a comprehensive document checking service, aimed at reviewing Bills of Lading and validating their authenticity.
Fake trade and transport documents feature prominently in maritime and trading frauds. Banks, traders, insurance companies and shipping agents all rely on documents such as Bills of Lading, Sea Waybills, Air Waybills, CMR and FCR when making decisions. A document that appears to be genuine can induce a bank to pay for goods or finance a trade.
It can persuade an insurance company to grant cover, or indemnify a fraudulent claim. It may lead a shipping agent to release a cargo to a party not legitimately entitled to it.
It must be remembered that these fake documents can be very convincing.
With many years of experience and in-depth knowledge of what to look for, IMB´s Information Department also has great resources at its disposal, so that it can swiftly confirm the authenticity or otherwise of transport documents.
IMB makes a number of independent checks on, and, with the parties named on documents, and these quickly establish whether there might be any cause for concern. If so, IMB will quickly flag this up, and make further enquiries, as appropriate, to determine what could be wrong.
IMB´s tried and trusted system provides an invaluable tool for verifying transactions, thus ensuring that you are able to track the progress of deals right up until the end. It is important to have all documents and offers checked by CCS before entering into a deal.
IMB, FIB and CCS are divisions of the International Chambers of Commerce - the world business organization.
For more information about ICC’s commercial crime fighting services, please contact WJS Finders!
