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Investigations Division
Major Kalastree is actively involved in the Investigations Division. A former recipient of the
International Investigator of the Year award, he was also President of the Council of
International Investigators (2001-2002). He also serves in executive positions on other
international investigations association committees.
Investigations for the Corporate and Commercial Sector
Mainguard is one of the few companies in Asia today that specializes in this niche market of
investigations involving the corporate and commercial sectors. These areas of investigation
cover:
- Pre-employment screening will involve verifying the potential employee's employment history
and even personal background checks. The extent of detail will depend on the potential employers'
requirements.
- Corporate investigation where the company's ownership, nature of business activities,
financial status and any other information are being analysed.
Clients who require this service are usually conducting a feasibility report before they make a
decision on a joint venture or a working partnership. This is especially so if the client is a
potential investor from the West and currently unfamiliar with the Asian market, or the vice versa.
- Due diligence on subjects which can be done through court searches, surveillance, property
asset searches. It may even involve surveillance and checks on family members and other relationships.
- Employee fraud where an employer suspects that an employee is "stealing" the company and
they need to verify his / her character and background, his / her current after work activities and
relationships which can provide them with the necessary evidence to take legal action.
- Industrial espionage where a company suspects that a competitor or partner is sabotaging
them, which will be detrimental to their profitability, corporate image and even business survival,
in some cases. They need to gather evidence to plan their strategy to counter the actions or take
legal action.
- Intellectual property investigations where a company suspects that their associate or
distributor has breached their contract by selling their products in areas not covered in their
agreement, or reproducing their products which has been patented or protected by copyright laws. The
clients need to gather evidence and work with the authorities to obtain a search warrant to raid the
premises and take legal action.
- Commercial fraud investigations which can extend to tracking shipment of missing cargo, verifying
transactions that should have occurred, corporate and personal due diligence. The objective is to
provide evidence for the client to take legal action and /or recover the losses.
- Financial investigations which may involve verifying the financial status of a company and an
individual by obtaining information on his / her assets, financial circumstances, liabilities,
bankruptcy records, money laundering activities and others.
- Forensic accounting services which is an audit and analysis of the suspected company's balance
sheet, profit and loss statements, compliance with legal requirements to prove fraud,
misappropriation of funds and other corporate criminal conduct.
- Insurance claims verification where the identity and location of beneficiary is to be determined,
or the evidence to prove the claimant's meets criteria for a payout to be made.
Business Feasibility Studies
Business feasibility studies involved gathering, compiling, analyzing and interpreting information
on a specific product, target market, or subject matter which is crucial to the client for the
strategic planning purposes.
The process of gathering the information can involve:
- Market Survey
- Competitor Intelligence
- Research from primary and secondary sources of information
Civil Investigations
Civil investigations involve working on assignments which are personal or family-related in nature
such as:
- Locating missing persons and long lost relatives
- Obtaining legal evidence on cases involving estranged family members
- Obtaining evidence for child custody cases, especially where one parent is a foreigner
- Verifying nature of personal relationships
Mainguard's investigation clients are from both Singapore and overseas. They include law firms,
insurance companies, multinational corporations, shipping firms and organizations from various
industry sectors. The investigations may involve assignments throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Through their extensive networking with different industry groups in Singapore and overseas, the
company has acquired a good working knowledge of countries in the Asia-Pacific such as China,
India, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Australia and also the Middle East Countries.
The company also has reliable connections in the investigation field in North America and Europe.
All phases of investigation will be carried out discreetly. The reports are provided in confidence,
and where possible, the investigators will provide feedback on the background details of the
environment where the case is located. This information will assist clients in evaluating the
reports in the right perspective.
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