As has been widely reported over the last few days, Jules Kroll is getting back in the game. Since departing the sprawling investigative, security and consulting enterprise that he founded many have speculated what Kroll would turn to next. Now they have their answer. According to recent interviews, Kroll is planning a competitor to existing credit rating agencies, Moodys, S&P, Fitch and the like. Details here.

--MDT

Labels: Jules Kroll

The latest on the TD International, Steven Fleischmann dispute... A few weeks ago TDI filed an injunction requesting that Fleischmann's bank accounts be frozen - accounts allegedly containing funds siphoned off from TDI company coffers. In an August 4th Memorandum, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon slammed the door on the request, concluding with the following:

"TDI's sole argument with respect to irreparable harm is that it holds an 'equitable interest' in the funds it seeks to freeze. (Pl. Mot. at 5-6.) Putting aside TDI's failure to advance ant legal or factual basis to support its claim to any "equitable interest in the funds, it does not establish what irreparable harm will befall it if the Court does not grant the injunction it seeks. Indeed, the mere existence of an equitable interest in the funds is not enough on its own to warrant injunctive relief."

I think that is legalese for "Zing!"

- MDT

Labels: TD International Steven Fleischmann

It retrospect, this would have been bad:

...Antiguan authorities moved Friday to take control of Stanford's offshore bank, an action that could put the Caribbean island government at odds with the SEC. Antiguan regulators named British-based Vantis Business Recovery Service as a receiver for the bank that purported to have $8.5 billion in assets in December.

The SEC, which has installed its own receiver over Stanford Financial's US operations, says it can’t account for the money in the bank. The SEC and Antiguan officials could not be reached for comment. Vantis declined to comment. The little-known London-based firm is said to have beat out some better-known corporate clean-up firms for the job, such as Kroll.

It’s not clear if Antiguan authorities consulted with the SEC before making the pick. A person familiar with the Stanford investigation says for months Antiguan authorities were thumbing their noses at the SEC and rebuffing attempts by US regulators to get information on Stanford's offshore operation.

Not only is the Stanford investigation still unfolding. Now it seems it may get ugly too.

Ugly for more than just Allen Stanford, at this point.

-- MDT

Labels: Kroll, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas Cash

Due to the controversy (and litigation) surrounding his connection to accused ponzi fraudster, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas V. Cash has stepped down from his position at Kroll. Cash had served as Kroll's Executive Managing Director in Miami. Cash's bio page on the Kroll website has already been removed.

-- MDT

Labels: Kroll, R. Allen Stanford, Thomas Cash

Perhaps you recall that back in 2006 American cyclist Floyd Landis, over vigorous and vocal protestations of his innocence, was stripped of his Tour De France victory when a doping test turned up abnormal levels of testosterone. At least that much about this New York Times story was familiar to me...

What didn't get much play stateside was a subsequent criminal complaint filed by the French cycling association alleging that confidential records relating to Landis's testing had been stolen from the ornately named Laboratoire National de Dépistage du Dopage. The test records were subsequently altered and released to the news media in an apparent attempt to discredit the tests.

An email spreading these altered documents was traced back to an IP address shared by a computer owned by Arnie Baker, Floyd Landis's coach. Baker has not denied distributing the testing documents but has denied any involvement prior to them entering the public domain. Baker claimed no knowledge of how the documents were accessed and has not been linked directly to the intrusion.

The cybercrime brigade of the French Interior Ministry was ultimately able to finger someone for the hack - one Alain Quiros. Nabbed in Morocco, Quiros confessed to investigators, after interrogation, that he had been paid a few thousand dollars retrieve the information from Laboratoire computers. So, then, who paid Quiros to do the deed?

According to Quiros's confession it was Thierry Lorho, head of Kargus Consultants, a Paris-based investigative firm. Based on a further review of Quiros's computers it looks like Kargus paid him to do quite a few other things as well. Files belonging to senior officials of Greenpeace, France and to noted litigator, Fréderik-Karel Canoy (think Euro Bill Lerach with better hair and no prison issued jumpsuit) were also found.

Lorho also acknowledged that, per the files found in Quiros's possession, his firm had indeed investigated Greenpeace's anti-nuclear activities, on behalf of pan-European utility provider, Électricité de France. He also claimed that EDF (the world's largest operator of nuclear reactors) was well aware of type of work that was taking place in their name - a claim EDF officials have denied.

Much of this broke back in April of this year, but the fallout continues. EDF is currently cooperating with the government's ongoing investigation - awkward when EDF is a majority government controlled entity in the first place. The utility has not yet been formally charged, but has been named an "assisted witness." Two senior security executives were been charged. EDF execs Pierre Francois, a power plant security chief and Pascal Durieux, EDF head of security, were suspended.

While EDF has defended its need to be vigilant against radical groups, as a result of the investigation, Kargus and EDF have parted ways. EDF has also acknowledged that they have ended an ongoing relationship with the Switzerland-based security firm, Securewyse, which according to news reports, has been hired by EDF to monitor representatives of Sortir du Nucléaire, an anti-nuclear group.

Regarding shareholder activist, Frédérik-Karel Canoy the government's investigation has led them to at least question Jean-Francois Dubos, the general counsel of Viviendi, a noted target of Canoy-led litigation - 13 cased and counting. While not under formal investigation, Dubos has seen his office searched and has been interviewed as a witness.

It remains to be seen how many different companies will become entangled in the French government's investigation - all of which flows out of the identification on one small time investigative subcontractor. I am sure it all must have seemed very distant when talking in theory about the work that would be directed via the protective veil of your corporate security or general counsels office, through a contractor who then separately hires one or more subcontractors whose names are never even known by the client.

Except of course when the work being conducted (perhaps without client knowledge or direction) is illegal on its face and an unlucky subcontractor's name becomes known to police. Once they start climbing the ladder, many corporate executives have found that it leads right to their boardroom door. Ask them at HP, or Hilton, or Wal-Mart or Deutsche Telekom. And there lies one of the most interesting aspects of this whole sorted affair - the dirty work of several different corporate entities is tied in to one small subcontractor.

--MDT

Labels: Alain Quiros, Frédérik-Karel Canoy, Kargus Consultants, Securewyse, Thierry Lorho