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i-Spy Detective Agency handles corporate investigation work for businesses, legal firms, and organisations across the UK. Our team deals with everything from checking out potential hires to investigating fraud, gathering digital evidence, and providing the intelligence companies need to protect themselves and make better decisions.
We’ve been doing this long enough to know that corporate investigations rarely fit into neat boxes. A fraud case might need digital forensics. A due diligence check sometimes turns into asset tracing. We’re set up to handle these complications as they arise.
Due Diligence & Background Checks
Corporate Due Diligence
Before you sign off on a merger, acquisition, or major partnership, you need to know what you’re getting into. Our due diligence work goes beyond the official paperwork. We verify what directors are telling you, look into financial histories, and dig up any conflicts of interest or red flags that might not appear in the documents your lawyers are reviewing.
This usually takes anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on how many companies or individuals need checking and what jurisdictions are involved.
Executive Vetting & Background Checks
We assess the person’s professional history, check their track record and investigate anything in their history that could cause a problem later down the line. Whether that is undisclosed conflicts, inflating the truth or reputation issues that could reflect badly on your business. Recruiting a person in your C-suite is different than normal hiring. Due to higher stakes, there is a considerable need for thorough checking.
Pre-Employment Screening
Standard pre-employment checks verify employment history, qualifications, and references. We handle these routinely, but we also know when to dig deeper. Sometimes a gap in someone’s CV needs explaining. Sometimes a reference doesn’t quite add up. We catch these inconsistencies before they become your problem.
Partner & Vendor Due Diligence
Before committing to a major supplier relationship or joint venture, we examine the other party’s commercial standing, reputation, and track record. Financial instability, ongoing litigation, or problematic business associations all need to be factored into your decision. We find this information while there’s still time to walk away or renegotiate terms.
Fraud & Financial Investigations
Corporate Fraud Investigations
When money goes missing or the numbers don’t add up, you need answers quickly. We investigate embezzlement, procurement fraud, false expenses, and other financial misconduct. The work typically involves examining financial records, interviewing witnesses (carefully, to avoid tipping anyone off), and gathering evidence that will stand up in court or disciplinary proceedings.
Speed matters here. The longer fraud goes undetected, the more damage it causes.
Business Asset Tracing
Whether you’re chasing a debtor or investigating suspected fraud, finding hidden assets requires patience and expertise. We trace money through bank accounts, locate offshore holdings, identify property ownership, and uncover assets that have been transferred to family members or shell companies.
International cases take longer—different jurisdictions mean different access to records. We work with our contacts abroad when trails lead overseas.
Procurement & Vendor Fraud Investigations
Kickbacks, phantom suppliers, invoice manipulation—procurement fraud comes in many forms. We investigate suspected bid rigging, conflicts of interest between your staff and suppliers, and arrangements where vendors are overcharging while paying someone on your team to look the other way.
These investigations often start with someone in accounts noticing something odd. We take it from there.
Debt Recovery Investigations
Before you spend money on legal action, it helps to know whether the debtor actually has assets worth pursuing. We locate individuals who’ve gone to ground, identify what property or funds they have, and assess whether recovery is realistic. Sometimes the answer saves you from throwing good money after bad.
Employee & Workplace Investigations
Employee Misconduct Investigations
Theft, dishonesty, policy breaches, inappropriate behaviour—these situations need investigating properly. We gather evidence through surveillance, interviews, and digital forensics, working discreetly so you can deal with the problem without causing unnecessary disruption.
The challenge is usually balancing thoroughness with confidentiality. Allegations spread quickly in workplaces, so we work carefully.
Whistleblower Investigations
Whistleblower complaints need impartial investigation. We examine the allegations, review evidence, interview relevant people, and determine what actually happened. Our job is to establish facts, not to defend the organisation or automatically believe the whistleblower.
Protecting identities where legally required is part of the process. So is distinguishing between genuine concerns and grievances dressed up as whistleblowing.
Workplace Investigations
Harassment allegations, discrimination claims, safety violations—these require professional handling. We conduct interviews without intimidating people, examine evidence objectively, and produce reports that give HR and legal teams what they need to make proper decisions.
Getting people to talk honestly is often the hardest part. We’re experienced at building enough trust for that to happen.
Conflict of Interest Investigations
Undisclosed conflicts undermine business decisions. We investigate employees or executives who may have financial interests in suppliers, competing businesses, or other arrangements they haven’t declared. This work often involves examining company records, financial transactions, and sometimes surveillance to establish what relationships actually exist.
Insider Threat Investigations
Trusted employees with access to sensitive information can cause serious damage—whether they’re stealing data, leaking intellectual property, or working for competitors. We use a combination of digital forensics, surveillance, and intelligence gathering to identify insider threats before they do irreparable harm.
These investigations require extra care around employment law. We work closely with your legal team to ensure everything’s done properly.
Compliance & Regulatory Investigations
Anti-Bribery & Corruption Investigations
Suspected bribery or corruption needs investigating immediately. We examine kickback arrangements, facilitation payments, undisclosed conflicts, and other practices that could violate the Bribery Act. Our evidence supports internal disciplinary action and, where necessary, reporting to authorities.
The sooner you investigate, the better your position if regulators come calling.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Investigations
When suspicious transactions trigger AML concerns, we investigate. Financial institutions and regulated businesses use us to examine customer due diligence failures, unusual transaction patterns, and potential money laundering activity. Our work helps firms meet compliance obligations and respond properly to suspicious activity reports.
Regulatory Investigations Support
Regulatory scrutiny is stressful and expensive. When regulators start asking questions, we help businesses gather evidence, conduct internal reviews, and prepare their response. Having your facts straight before you submit to the regulator makes a significant difference to outcomes.
We’ve supported businesses through FCA investigations, health and safety inquiries, and various industry-specific regulatory matters.
Digital & Cyber Investigations
Digital Forensics
Computers, phones, servers—digital devices hold evidence, but recovering it properly requires expertise. We extract deleted files, trace communications, analyse browsing history, and recover data from damaged devices. Our forensic analysts maintain chain of custody and produce court-admissible evidence.
The work needs to be defensible under cross-examination, so we document every step.
eDiscovery
Litigation often involves reviewing thousands of emails and documents. We handle eDiscovery by identifying, preserving, and analysing electronic records. Advanced search filters help us find relevant material without you paying lawyers to read every email your staff ever sent.
Volume is usually the challenge here. Efficient filtering saves substantial time and cost.
Cyber Investigations
After data breaches, ransomware attacks, or hacking incidents, we investigate what happened. This means tracing attack origins, identifying vulnerabilities that were exploited, and gathering evidence for potential legal action or insurance claims.
Time pressure is intense with cyber incidents. We respond quickly to preserve evidence before it disappears.
Social Media & OSINT Investigations
People reveal a lot online. Our open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations examine social media profiles, public records, online forums, and digital footprints. This work supports due diligence, fraud investigations, and background checks—often turning up information subjects thought was private or forgotten.
Intellectual Property & Brand Protection
Intellectual Property Investigations
When someone’s stealing your IP—whether that’s patents, trade secrets, or proprietary information—we investigate. We identify infringement, trace how IP has been misused, and gather evidence for litigation. Former employees taking customer lists or technical data to competitors is a common scenario we handle.
Brand Protection
Counterfeit products and trademark infringement damage your brand and cost you revenue. We identify counterfeiters, trace their distribution networks, and conduct test purchases to gather evidence. Online marketplaces, physical retailers, and international suppliers all need different investigative approaches.
Counterfeit Goods Investigations
From luxury goods to pharmaceuticals, counterfeiting operations vary in sophistication. We investigate manufacturing sources, identify distribution channels, and locate sellers. Our work supports enforcement action—whether that’s civil litigation, trading standards involvement, or criminal prosecution.
Surveillance & Intelligence Operations
Surveillance & Covert Operations
Sometimes you need eyes on someone to know what they’re actually doing. Our surveillance teams conduct discreet observation, providing photographic and video evidence of activities. We use trained operatives, specialist vehicles, and covert recording equipment to document behaviour without being detected.
Surveillance can run for days or weeks depending on what patterns we need to establish.
Vehicle Tracking
GPS tracking provides real-time location data and movement history for vehicles. We install trackers discreetly, you monitor the vehicle via secure online access, and we remove the device when you’re done. It’s cost-effective for monitoring company vehicles or subjects under investigation.
Installation takes minutes. The hard part is choosing the right moment and location so the device won’t be discovered.
Undercover Operations
Complex investigations sometimes need undercover agents. Our operatives work inside organisations or situations where external investigation won’t reach. This might mean getting employed in a warehouse to investigate theft, or infiltrating a network to gather intelligence on fraud.
Undercover work is legally sensitive. We plan operations carefully with your legal advisors to ensure everything’s lawful and evidence is admissible.
TSCM Bug Sweeping (Counter-Surveillance)
Corporate espionage is real. Our Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM) sweeps detect hidden cameras, listening devices, GPS trackers, and other surveillance equipment in your offices, boardrooms, or vehicles. We use specialised detection equipment and manual searches to find devices that shouldn’t be there.
Sweeps are particularly important before sensitive meetings, during confidential transactions, or if you suspect information is leaking.
Mystery Shoppers
Want to know how your staff actually treat customers when management isn’t watching? Our mystery shoppers visit your premises or contact your business, evaluating service quality, policy compliance, and customer experience. We provide video evidence and detailed reports identifying where standards are slipping.
Business Intelligence & Risk Assessment
Business Intelligence
We gather lawful intelligence on competitors, market conditions, opportunities, and threats. This supports strategic planning, market entry decisions, and competitive positioning. The work stays firmly within legal boundaries—no industrial espionage or unlawful methods.
Competitive Intelligence
Understanding competitors means researching their activities, strategies, products, and market positioning. We gather this from public sources, industry contacts, and legitimate intelligence gathering. What you do with the intelligence is your decision; we just provide the information.
Risk & Threat Assessments
Before expanding, investing, or facing potential threats, you need proper risk assessment. We evaluate security risks, reputational threats, political instability, and other factors that could damage your business or investments.
These assessments draw on intelligence sources, local contacts, and our experience of what actually goes wrong in different scenarios.
Market Entry Risk Assessments
Expanding into new territories carries risks that aren’t always obvious from a distance. We assess local regulations, corruption risks, competitive landscapes, and security concerns. Our intelligence helps you decide whether to proceed, and what precautions to take if you do.
Travel Security Intelligence
When executives travel to high-risk regions, current intelligence makes a difference. We provide security briefings covering political stability, crime risks, kidnap threats, and local security situations. These briefings are updated until departure, because situations can change quickly.
Litigation & Legal Support
Litigation Support
Legal cases need investigation support—locating witnesses, gathering evidence, verifying facts, conducting background checks. We work alongside legal teams, providing the intelligence and evidence that strengthens cases.
The timeline usually depends on court dates. We’ve worked to tight deadlines when litigation moves quickly.
Process Serving
Legal documents need serving correctly for proceedings to be valid. Our process servers deliver court papers, legal notices, and other documents across the UK, providing proof of service for court. We handle evasive recipients and difficult service situations.
Witness Location & Interviews
Witnesses move house, change contact details, or deliberately avoid involvement. We find them using skip tracing techniques and database research. We also conduct professional witness interviews, obtaining statements that support your case.
Getting reluctant witnesses to cooperate requires tact. We’re experienced at that conversation.
Additional Corporate Services
Missing Persons (Corporate Context)
When employees abscond with company property, debtors disappear, or key individuals go to ground, we find them. Skip tracing combines database research, field investigation, and persistence. People leave digital footprints even when they’re trying to disappear.
Reputation Management & Crisis Support
Reputational crises need quick investigation. We investigate sources of damaging allegations, gather evidence to refute false claims, and provide intelligence supporting crisis communications. The work is often against the clock—every day a false story runs causes more damage.
Insurance Investigations
Suspected insurance fraud needs professional investigation before insurers pay out. We verify claims, conduct surveillance of claimants, and investigate suspicious circumstances. Video evidence of claimants doing activities they claim they can’t do is a common outcome.
Corporate Security Consulting
Beyond investigating problems after they occur, we advise on preventing them. Security consulting covers vulnerability assessments, security enhancements, and protective measures against theft, espionage, and other threats.
Incident Response Investigations
When security incidents happen—breaches, theft, vandalism, threats—swift investigation is essential. Our incident response team gathers evidence and intelligence supporting police cooperation, insurance claims, and preventative measures.
Why Choose i-Spy Detective Agency?
Our team brings backgrounds in investigation, law enforcement, intelligence, and forensic analysis. We understand how businesses operate and what they need from investigation work.
We handle the full range of corporate investigation services. When cases get complicated and need multiple approaches, we have the in-house expertise to deal with that.
Discretion matters in corporate work. We maintain strict confidentiality, protecting your business reputation while we investigate sensitive matters.
Our evidence meets court admissibility standards. We gather everything lawfully, maintain proper chain of custody, and provide detailed reports. We’ll give expert testimony if cases go to court.
We operate UK-wide with local investigators across the country. International cases require coordination with overseas contacts, which we manage when investigations cross borders.
We use current investigation technology—surveillance equipment, digital forensics tools, intelligence databases—combined with traditional investigative fieldwork.
Every business has different problems. We design investigation approaches around your specific situation, budget, and what you actually need to achieve.
Get In Touch
If you need corporate investigation services, contact i-Spy Detective Agency for a confidential discussion about your situation and how we can help.
Consultations are free and confidential. No obligation to proceed.
Professional corporate investigations across the UK.