Services Provided Trademark Investigations & Market Survey Through our trademark investigations and enforcement assistance, we assist our clients in making sure that their brands are not being stolen, counterfeited or tampered with. We also assist our clients to curb parallel trading practices. Our objective is to protect the intellectual property rights of our clients, thereby mitigating the risks to their business results and reputation. Counterfeiters and other unscrupulous operators distribute counterfeit products which can cause severe damage to the targeted company’s image and profitability, as well as create health and losses for the customers. Our investigative activities include: • Monitoring the markets to identify fake goods and act against the retail outlet and manufacturer; • Identifying counterfeiters, importers, warehouses, distributors, • Uncovering the networks and the channels, • Inspecting and controlling the manufacturing, destruction and recycling processes; • Cooperating with local law enforcement agencies which includes the Ministry of Domestic Trade Cooperative and Consumerism, Customs Department and Police Commercial Crime in apprehending suspects and seizing counterfeiting merchandise; • Investigating the origin of parallel imports / parallel exports. Pre-Employment Screening • This service is generally sought by Human Resources departments, which require curriculum vitae and resume screenings prior to recruitment. As some prospective recruits provide false information and forged diplomas, it is important to check all information. Depending on the clients requirements, pre-employment screening can involve the following checks: • Education check: these checks are conducted to verify that the candidate has indeed studied and graduated as per stated in resume, when, and if the diplomas are genuine; • Employment checks: the information checked relates to position, dates of employment; • Police check: the information is checked with local police stations relevant to current address and known previous addresses; • Civil & criminal litigation check: this search is conducted to determine if the candidate has been involved in court cases (as a defendant or as a plaintiff); • Credit check: the check is organized to assess the creditworthiness of a person or the likelihood that person will pay his or her debts; • Reverse directorship search: the search is aimed at identifying an individual’s potential involvement in private companies as a director or a shareholder and are therefore invaluable in unearthing possible conflicts of interest; • Media check: a number of Malaysian newspapers and magazines are checked over the last 30 years through media intranets and libraries. Additionally an Internet check is also conducted; • Verification of current residential address: this check is conducted physically if the individual lives in Malaysia. • Professional certification check: this check is conducted to verify if the professional certifications are genuine. • Background Checks / Vettings Background checks can be conducted on companies as well as on individuals. Corporate background checks identify risks in a company which do not appear on a standard corporate balance sheet. Whereas a “normal” due diligence looks exclusively at financial information, background searches focuses on more abstract (but just as important) factors in assessing whether a company can be dealt with in all confidence. A typical background check includes the following items: • Existence of the company; • Full institutional details, including capitalization, directors, commissioners and shareholders and other legal data; • History and business scope of the company; • Reputation and track record of its directors, executives or other key principals; • Networks, political links, existence of criminal links, • Alternative business interests of the company’s key principals; • Civil litigation and/or criminal record relating to the company itself or any of its key principals. A background check is generally a combination of thorough documentary research and discreet inquiries with sources in the relevant industry who may have dealt with the subject company and its principals, either in a public or private capacity, and are willing to share information as to its credentials and reputation. A background check is generally preventive (i.e. prior to setting up a partnership, before signing a contract, before purchasing goods over the Internet or dealing in any other business capacity with the subject company). Fraud Investigation Companies can be victim of fraud which takes many forms: criminal deception for private gain, conflict of interest, theft, embezzlement, inappropriate conduct, corruption, bribery, collusion, etc. Fraud investigations involve clients contacting us with a fraud issue and assigning us to conduct an investigation when they suspect that fraudulent activities or other unethical business are being perpetrated by one or several of their employees, with or without external collusion. Conducting a fraud investigation involves interviews and pretext approaches to employees or external parties, surveillance, forensic IT and so forth. The aim of the investigation is to determine the modus operandi of the fraud, uncover the identity of the perpetrators and collect all the relevant evidence. These findings can then be used by the client to make decisions on how to tackle the problem internally or to turn the evidence to the authorities. Insurance Claims • Risk assessments Background checks and assessments are carried out to determine the risk involved in insuring an asset or individual. Our reports identify potential threats, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Clients minimize their exposure. • Investigation of potentially fraudulent claims When fraudulent claims are suspected, our investigators conduct inquiries into theft and burglary claims, fire loss claims, personal injuries claims, death and disability claims. When fraud is indeed confirmed, insurance companies are provided with a comprehensive investigation report with supporting evidence such as photos. This evidence enables our clients to reject fraudulent claim. Asset Tracing These investigations involve tracing and identifying the assets of a particular entity or individual. This includes locating land holdings, real estate, stocks, company shareholdings and other business interests, inventory, financial resources, vehicles and others. Asset searches are useful in situations of loan or credit default, in insolvency proceedings, in company valuations and assessments in the cases of new partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, as well as circumstantial evidence in cases of embezzlement, white collar crime, misappropriation of funds and assets, etc. Process Serving Involved in process serving the personal delivery of summons, subpoenas and other legal documents to parties in a legal case. Compliance Audits Impartial assessments through compliance audits are required to ensure applicable standards and regulatory guidelines are followed throughout our clients organization and their suppliers. Conducts compliance audits based on corporate standards or any relevant legal, regulatory or contractual obligations. Regular compliance audits are a major tool for operational risk management.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:29:45 +0000
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