The CRI Group™, a global leader in Anti-Corruption, Compliance, Fraud Risk Investigations, and Third-Party Risk Management, has extended its reach into Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The CRI Group safeguards some of the world’s leading multinational organizations, by investigating the financial viability, business history, legal compliance, and integrity levels of third parties, outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking business affiliations with their clients.
“The world of business is getting increasingly risky,” says Zafar I. Anjum, CRI Group™ Chief Executive Officer. “From dishonest employees to rogue business partners, successful business organisations should assume that they are potential targets of corporate crime, and subsequently develop strategies to safeguard their operations. We are very pleased to be welcomed and accepted by the Ministry of Investment, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and look forward to working alongside the esteemed organizations that intend to expand their presence and investment in the Kingdom.”
The CRI Group has earned a credible reputation worldwide by successfully deterring, detecting, and investigating crimes against businesses. This success is the outcome of having a global network of professionals specially trained in business and third-party due diligence and Anti-Corruption accredited certification by CRI Group’s independent UKAS accredited certification body.
The CRI Group operates one of the largest multi-national Third-Party Risk Management teams the industry has to offer, employing a network of Certified Fraud Examiners, Compliance Experts, and Research Consultants strategically positioned across five continents and who possess an impressive array of industry backgrounds.
“CRI Group experts come from a variety of professions and possess industry knowledge and experience serving clients in the banking, investments, international finance, government, and public and privately held multinational business sectors,” says Mr. Anjum. “Our specialized capabilities and multinational resources enable us to perform in-depth investigations and research across nearly every corner of the globe. This worldwide knowledge base has set CRI Group apart as a leader in global investigative research for more than 32 years.”
The company currently maintains offices in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Turkey, effectively serving its broad client base by providing professional services covering the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.
CRI Group welcomes inquiries from KSA businesses. To reach Zafar I. Anjum, CRI Group CEO, call +971 50 9038184, +966 54 6932838 or +44 588 454959, or email zanjum@crigroup.com
Based in London, CRI® Group works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider.
CRI Group™ services such as DueDiligence360™, 3PRM™ and EmploySmart™ can significantly help organizations deal with bribery and corruption, third-party risk management, noncompliance with the regional and international regulatory framework and malpractice.
CRI™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle, and it is a licensed and incorporated entity of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and Qatar Financial Center (QFC).
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In 2016, CRI Group™ launched Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body that provides education and certification services for individuals and organizations on a wide range of disciplines and ISO standards, including ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management- Guidelines; ISO 37000:2021 Governance of Organisations; ISO 37002:2021 Whistleblowing Management System; ISO 37301:2021 (formerly ISO 19600) Compliance Management system (CMS); Anti-Money Laundering (AML); and ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems ABMS.
ABAC™ offers a complete suite of solutions designed to help organizations mitigate the internal and external risks associated with operating in multi-jurisdiction and multi-cultural environments while assisting in developing frameworks for strategic compliance programs.
Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.
Running a new start-up or even a mature and successful business setup is no mean task. Hopefully, you have safely weathered all the storms that came your way in 2022: transitioning from the unprecedented pandemic; walking straightaway into the looming inflation; the messy Russia-Ukraine war that keeps going on and on; and the FTX Crypto collapse that took out the little faith that you might have nurtured in your crypto get-rich-quick dreams.
As you get set to energise your business in 2023, all of us at the CRI Group™ send you our warmest wishes for lots of learning opportunities, continued growth, and fruitful collaborations.
Here are a few New Year Resolutions that will help you and your business rock and roll in the coming year:
Preparing a master document with your strategies and processes can help you brainstorm with your think tank and fine-tune your strategies. Delegating key tasks will free up your time which can be effectively used to plan growth. This also means ensuring you have skilled and trustworthy people to take key decisions during crunch times.
It is important to plan, strategise and review your company’s growth every fortnight or even every week, perhaps. Reviewing goals regularly can tell you if your ship is sailing in the right direction and help you correct course as required for long-term growth. This includes changing plans if things are not working out as planned.
Tracking the progress of your employees, managers, and the company goals are best managed by putting a Performance Management System and KPIs in place. This will help you get everyone properly trained and prepare those with leadership skills for promotions in key positions. This system will also allow you to focus on other key matters rather than grapple with daily, mundane matters. A look at CRI’s Business Intelligence Solutions can help you with this.
This may seem very insignificant, but wouldn’t you rather walk into and work in a tidy place that is well organised, systematic, and inspires you to give your best? A well-maintained organisation emits positive energy and conveys a professional look to your clients and suppliers. CRI Group’s compliance solutions will also help you in ensuring compliance audits in all areas and keeping you one step ahead of regulatory requirements.
Always, always count your blessings. Give back in whatever way you can to your employees, your suppliers, your community, and the underprivileged in your area of business operations. Given the tough times that everyone is going through, your time or money can be the reason for their smile today and every day. The feel-good factor that you get enveloped in will be well worth it all!
The CRI® Group highly values the relationships we have built over the years, and we owe you our gratitude for the success we have achieved. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with you. Thank you once again for your valuable support.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful holiday season! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023! Having shared New Year Resolutions you could take up for the new year, we are excited to work with you in the years to come!
Check out our eBook Why Partner with CRI Group™, which will familiarise you with the unique services we offer. The CRI Group™ invites you to schedule a quick appointment with us to discuss how our risk management solutions can help you and your organisation.
So you think an Employee Background Check is a waste of your time? Here are some alarming stories for you:
One of our clients had interviewed an impressive candidate who had done well in the interview and had all the skills for the job. But the reference list he provided seemed ambiguous which included work experiences from much former jobs and did not provide any details of his recent employers for the client to verify the authenticity. We were in a perplexed situation unable to identify whether this was a red flag in our pre-employment screening (recruitment) process or did our candidate simply lack the skills to put together a credible reference list?
To further the hiring process we had recommended the client to ask their prospective job applicant to provide relevant information of his two recent managers for background verification to which he obliged and that made him appear to be reliable.
However, this was a short-lived impression since after connecting with the line managers we discovered that this candidate had been fired by both of his last employers for theft and fraud following with jail time for those cases.
Imagine if we, like some employers, wouldn’t make an effort to go an extra mile to check employee references, conduct thorough pre-employment investigation and make sure that each and every provided information is reliable only to put the corporation at the verge of reputational risk?
An open-ended question for our readers! Would your employee background screening practices have kept this from happening to you, or would this guy now be working down the hall from you, swindling you too?
The lesson from this incident clearly is: Don’t limit yourself only to the candidate’s list of references. If the candidate has offered peers or personal references rather than managers, ask to be put in touch with the specific people you want to talk to. Call the main switchboard numbers rather than the direct number you were given. For all you know, the candidate could have given you a friend’s phone number so the friend can pose as the former boss. Ask the right questions. If you just run through a perfunctory list of questions, you may never get to the most useful information. References are only a waste of time if you treat them like just an item to check off your list, rather than as a genuinely valuable part of your assessment process.
Recruiters should also have a clear understanding of the skills an applicant needs to possess to succeed in their job role. AJ Silberman-Moffitt, senior editor at search marketing agency Tandem Buzz, learned just how wrong things can go when the wrong candidate is hired while she was training her replacement after accepting a promotion. “Because she worked in a position with the same title as mine, there was no reason to think she would not know how to use the necessary tools and software,” Silberman-Moffitt said. “She answered everything appropriately in the interview, and the HR manager and I hired her,” according to a report in the businessnewsdaily.com.
The escalating figure of crime scenes and fraudulence incidents justifies why organisations take up this step. Within the dynamic business environment we’re operating in, corporations are now more inclined towards being vigilant of the quality of employees they are hiring. Specifically, the human resource managers are strategizing to reduce employee turnover and burnout rate thereby increasing retention of competent employees. With the vision of achieving a sustainable workplace environment, pre-employment screening and comprehensive background checks are becoming an essential instrument to welcome and retain the finest possible.
An Employee Background Check is a worthwhile concept as employers strive to have the best pick from the candidates who show up for the recruitment process. After the interview sessions are over, a minimum of two weeks is required to get through the employee background screening procedure before you can finalise the hires. Since this procedure requires a thorough knowledge of regulatory compliance and investigative analytical skills, corporations outsource this service to the industrial experts to conduct a comprehensive verification of employee’s academic, professional and even social presence. After the employer is gratified with the check, the employee is offered an appointment letter to join them.
CRI Group’s EmploySmart™ can be tailored into specific screening packages to meet the requirements of each specific position within your organisation.
Download our EmploySmart brochure or get a free quote to ensure a safe work environment for all.
Organisations carry out such checks due to a myriad of reasons. Some of these include:
In conducting employee background checks, there are some golden rules that one needs to observe to avoid any legal complications. These do and don’ts include but are not limited to:
One of the major disadvantages is that you might see this as a wastage of time and money. An organisation invests large sums of money in conducting such investigations, and most of the time, the person turns out to be a genuine one and with the time it takes to conduct these checks, the candidate may think that the organisation is not interested and hence, they may join some other organisation in this period.
Judging a candidate on his/her background deeds may not always prove to be fruitful either. It may happen that a candidate got trapped in a criminal offence and in an actual sense, they are a gem of a person. But when you do not know the candidate personally, you will focus on the verification reports and let a genuine person go.
If there is still any uncertainty in your mind about conducting employee background checks, why not reach out to us? CRI Group has experts across the globe from all backgrounds who are trained to provide you with specialised, expert advice fit for your business needs. Get in touch today!
Who is CRI Group™?
Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, TPRM, Compliance Solutions, and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.
In 2016, CRI Group™ launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC™ operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organisations.
Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.
With the EU Due Diligence Legislation in play, the concept of mandatory human rights due diligence for companies is gaining momentum among governments and businesses in Europe. So how does this legislation matter? In terms of working conditions in India, for example, a government report found that:
The tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013, which claimed the lives of over 1,000 people, confirmed for European lawmakers the need to establish a strict liability regime for corporate supply chains, says a report by Dr Daniel Sharma on dlapiper.com
The EU Due Diligence Legislation imposes liabilities on companies that procure their products through supply chains from India and South Asia and sell them in Europe. The aim is to establish sanctions under public law and establish complaint procedures for affected parties.
Let us take a look at how companies with supply chains to India and South Asia can safely navigate this new regulatory landscape at the EU level:
Implementing the above will allow companies to safely navigate European supply chain legislation without exposing themselves to sanctions or penalties.
The CRI Group™ has developed a highly specialised assessment solution for Corporate Due Diligence to assist organisations in accurately identifying, preventing, mitigating and addressing actual and potential adverse impacts of affiliating with global partners and complying with all EU mandates.
From enhanced due diligence to identify non-compliance with the regulatory framework and damaging environmental allegations to investigating company (or stakeholder) human rights violations related to labour laws, child labour or human trafficking, CRI Group™ experts help determine the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners and suppliers affiliated with your company’s value chain.
Based in London, CRI Group works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research Solutions provider.
We have the largest proprietary network of background screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications and is an HRO-certified provider and partners with Oracle.
In 2016, CRI Group launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification.
ABAC® operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.
The most popular type of fraud is misappropriation of assets, including theft of cash and inventories. The motivation to commit fraud include a lack of understanding about fraud behaviour, opportunity to commit fraud and lifestyle and financial pressure.
The motivation for employee to commit fraud stems from three conditions:
Let us look at this case from 2019 which resulted in the conviction of a UK solicitor for fraud.
A former senior partner, the UK solicitor, has been jailed for four years after defrauding his firm out of a total of £2.3m. Andrew Davies, 59, paid personal invoices to himself from the business and under-declared £1.1m in stamp duty land tax to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for over nine years.
Davies pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation at Reading Crown Court in 2019 and was sentenced to four years imprisonment in January this year. As a senior partner at the firm, Andrew Davies managed to defraud it out of the money by paying personal invoices to himself from the business account.
The 59-year-old also under-declared £1.1m in Stamp Duty Land Tax to HMRC over nine years, over-declaring tax to clients and then taking money from the solicitor’s firms account for himself, both defrauding the company he worked for and HMRC at the same time.
Davies also raised invoices to pay over £1.6 million to his friend Stephen Allan, who worked as a property developer and was a firm client. The 62-year-old from Bishop’s Stortford was convicted at Reading Crown Court on one count of money laundering and jailed for three years.
In a statement, police mentioned the convictions and sentencing of a solicitor’s firm in Berkshire defrauded out of £2.3m between 2010 and 2017.
Allan then made smaller payments into Davies’ account and also pocketed around £400,000 himself. The solicitor extracted funds from the firm’s client account, paying it to Allan in transactions described as ‘fees’, but there was no known work for this.
Davies of The Street, West Clandon, Guildford, and Allan of Thornberry Road, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, was charged by police officers in August 2019.
The statement did not name the firm, but a Solicitors Regulation Authority notice has previously stated that Davies worked for Reading firm Pitmans LLP, which has since become part of another practice. Davies has already been struck by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal and ordered to pay £17,000 in costs.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Katie Taylor of Thames Valley Police’s Economic Crime Unit said: ‘In this case, a solicitor trusted to safeguard client funds abused this position and systematically defrauded his firm of large sums of money for his benefit.
‘He then used a corrupt relationship to launder the proceeds of his crime through a property developer. These professional enablers of organised crime represent a significant risk, and we hope that the conviction and sentence, in this case, will act as a deterrent to others.’
Source: Financial Crime News & The Law Society Gazette
Employee background check and employment history check is vital to avoid horror stories and taboo tales within HR, your business, or your brand. Simply investing in sufficient employment screening services can save you time, money and heartbreak.
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Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.
In 2016, the CRI Group launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000 Risk Management, providing training and certification. ABAC™ operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. As a result, CRI Group’s global team of certified fraud examiners work as a discreet white-labelled supplier to some of the world’s largest organisations.
There is growing momentum among governments all over the world that calls for Mandatory Due Diligence. This requires companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence. We now have the French Duty of Vigilance Law and the adoption in 2021 of new laws in Germany and Norway to the publication of a proposal for an EU-wide law in 2022, all moving in this direction. Major investors and companies are also speaking out in favour of such legislation, according to business-humanrights.org
Corporates will not be allowed anymore to focus on short-term benefits at the expense of long-term sustainable value creation. Environmental and social interests will also need to be fully woven into business strategies of the corporates.
Corporates are bound to get in line with human rights due diligence guidelines, as prescribed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Yet very few actually comply with the standards and nearly half of the biggest companies in the world analysed in the latest Corporate Human Rights Benchmark could not produce any proof of mitigating human rights issues in their supply chains.
The KnowTheChain benchmarks showed companies scoring a poor 29% for their human rights due diligence efforts — something that mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws seek to address.
For these laws should to be effective, a few important factors need to be factored in, such as a due diligence obligation for businesses across their global value chains; an effective and safe stakeholder engagement; mandatory requirements that go beyond routine check and audits, a thorough look at irresponsible business models and purchasing practices, and strong civil liability enforcement.
The CRI Group™ has developed a highly specialised assessment solution for Corporate Due Diligence and Third-Party Risk Management to assist organisations in accurately identifying, preventing, mitigating and addressing actual and potential adverse impacts of affiliating with global partners and complies with all EU mandates.
From enhanced due diligence to identify non-compliance of the regulatory framework and damaging environmental allegations to investigating company (or stakeholder) human rights violations related to labour laws, child labour or human trafficking, CRI Group experts help determine the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners and suppliers affiliated with your company’s value chain.
Recent studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between the extent to which companies implement environmental, social and good governance policies, and their overall economic performance, all while contributing to a more stable global marketplace. Such responsible business conduct will:
Further, apart from general compliance with EU mandates, such organisations will benefit from:
CRI Group’s corporate due diligence and accountability solutions can help your organisation comply with a growing list of global regulations and mandates related to human rights and the environment while acting as an integral part of your business decision-making and risk management systems.
Contact the CRI Group to learn more about our Corporate Due Diligence and Accountability solutions and stay one step ahead of the pending EU mandates. We look forward to assisting you.
Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider.
We have the largest proprietary network of background screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are, we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.
In 2016, CRI Group launched the Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption (ABAC™) Center of Excellence – an independent certification body established for ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management Systems, ISO 37301 Compliance Management Systems and ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management, providing training and certification.
ABAC® operates through its global network of certified ethics and compliance professionals, qualified auditors and other certified professionals. Contact ABAC™ for more on ISO Certification and training.
This article looks at the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) that applies to companies operating or trading in Germany and will enter into force on 1 January 2023.
The new German law, known as the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG, short for Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz in German) imposes due diligence obligations on environmental protection and on human rights, with all businesses having to introduce iterative and ongoing, or in certain circumstances ad hoc, due diligence processes specified by the Act.
Identification and management of an organisation’s supply chain and the risks that come with it require the implementation of due diligence processes.
The term “supply chain” refers to all products/services of a business, including all manufacturing and services, in Germany and/or abroad, from the extraction of raw materials to their delivery to the end customer.
Furthermore, due diligence processes should implement the following criteria:
More details can be had in our FREE Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) eBook.
From 2024, the law will apply to businesses with more than 1,000 employees.
Even if companies with fewer employees are not addressees of the Supply Chain Act, they may still be indirectly affected. This is because the companies directly affected would be obliged to enforce compliance to the best of their ability with human rights in their supply chain. The measures necessary for this can have a direct impact on their suppliers, for example, through the implementation of a code of conduct. In addition, the directly affected companies will often be dependent on the active support of their suppliers and thus have this support be contractually assured, e.g. in the form of reporting obligations as part of their risk analysis.
DOWNLOAD THE SUPPLY CHAIN DUE DILIGENCE ACT (LkSG) EBOOK.
At CRI®, we provide corporate reporting and due diligence services wherever you are. Use our DueDiligence360™ reports to help you comply with anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, and anti-corruption regulations ahead of a merger, acquisition, or joint venture. You can also use them for third-party risk assessment, onboarding decision-making, and identifying beneficial ownership structures.
Due Diligence helps you Identify key risk issues clearly and concisely using accurate information in a well-structured and transparent report format. Our comprehensive range of reports includes specialised reports that support specific compliance requirements. Protect your reputation and the risk of financial damage and regulator action using our detailed reports. They enhance your knowledge and understanding of the customer, supplier, and third-party risk, helping you avoid those involved with financial crime.
The CRI® Group invites you to schedule a quick appointment with them to discuss in more detail how conducting due diligence and compliance can help you and your organisation.
Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, TPRM, Due Diligence, Compliance Solutions and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider.
We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.
CRI Group™ hosted a free webinar on August 31st. Our intention was to be able to provide resources on workplace cultures in organisations around the globe that will aid them in expansion and an positive employee environment. Take advantage of this free recording on employee wellness, remote work, pre-employment screening and workplace cultures.
The live training session was conducted by senior certified HR professional and member of CRI’s expert team, Nilofar A. Gardezi.
Workplace trends are dictating major shifts and becoming new norms in the workplace. These trends are expected to grow in the coming years. Examples of this include hybrid work, employee wellness, and ongoing education. Adapting to workplace trends will help employers improve company culture, boost employee retention and defeat workplace complacency. This will help companies stay competitive within the industry and remain relevant in the wider world.
With over nine years of experience in HR, Nilofar A. Gardezi is a HRBP & an Associate Director with the CRI Group™. She is a gold-certified Trainer from DWE with a Certification in Psychology and serves as a Certified Professional Counsellor. She has worked with renowned organisations like Attock Group, British Council and Standard Chartered Bank.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about background checks / screening cost, guidelines, check references etc. This eBook is a compilation of all of the background screening related questions you ever needed answers to:
Taken as a whole, is the perfect primer for any HR professional, business leader and companies looking to avoid employee background screening risks. It provides the tools and knowledge needed to make the right decisions.
The CRI Group™ has been safeguarding businesses from fraud, bribery and corruption since 1990. We are a global company based in London, United Kingdom. Our experts and resources are located in key regional marketplaces. These are across the Asia Pacific, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, North and South America. Our global team can support your organisation anywhere in the world. For more details about the CRI Group™ or to schedule a meeting with us, click here.
Having dedicated his career to a background investigation, fraud prevention, protective integrity, security and compliance, Zafar Anjum is a distinguished and highly respected professional in his field. As Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Corporate Research and Investigations Limited (CRI Group™), he uses his extensive knowledge and expertise in creating stable and secure networks across challenging global markets. For organisations needing comprehensive project management, security, safeguard testing, background investigations and real-time compliance applications, Anjum is the assurance expert of choice for industry professionals.
Anjum: Fraud always seems to be increasing. No matter how sophisticated our attempts to prevent it become, perpetrators are always adapting with new methods. According to the 2020 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Report to the nations, asset misappropriation is the leading type of occupational fraud. It makes up 86% of fraud cases and causes a median loss of $100,000. On the other spectrum, financial statement fraud schemes are the least common (10% of cases) but are the most costly, causing a median loss of $954,000. A typical fraud case can last 14 months before detection and cause a loss of $8,300 per month – a whopping 5% of an organisations revenue is lost to fraud each year. There are various factors at play here, but it starts with ‘tone at the top’. Basically, corporate culture often sets the tone for how strict or lax an organisation prevents or detects fraud. Combine a lax approach with a country or jurisdiction where corruption is still prevalent, even considered ‘business as usual, and there will likely be a fraud.
Anjum: It should be a priority to conduct thorough background investigations when engaging in a merger or acquisition, an initial public offering (IPO), engaging suppliers, contractors or new clients – your client relationships can affect your organisation’s reputation and your ability – to name a few situations. This can help you avoid becoming entangled with third parties that have hidden fraud and other legal issues. It will also make you aware of a potential partner who has credit risk, has claimed bankruptcy or is faced with debtor filings, for example. In one case, a company was seeking to engage a new supplier for medical supplies and equipment. A background investigation revealed that the warehouse’s physical location – claimed by this ‘supplier’ did not exist. The company’s principal had previously been charged with a ‘criminal breach of trust’. Three other civil damages claims against the principal were discovered, with millions claimed in liabilities.
Anjum: One of the most important aspects of thorough background investigations is having a ‘boots on the ground approach. Online database searches can only take you so far. When conducting due diligence on entities or individuals, red flags that pop up often warrant further checking before they can be truly weighed as part of the decision process. For example, if you are considering partnering with another company and providing information for their physical location, do you have agents who can visit that location to make sure it is legitimate? Investigations sometimes discover that purported ‘headquarters’ is actually an abandoned home or vacant lot. Also, if certain credentials are claimed, you need to make phone calls or possibly a visit to the school or accrediting bodies to verify them. These are the important details that help you with facts that help guide your decisions.
EFFECTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT THROUGH BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS. FIND OUT HERE
Anjum: Privacy laws are probably the most important issue, and they need to be carefully understood and followed for every jurisdiction. In the UK, for example, the pandemic has created new data privacy issues, but prudent organisations are constantly evaluating their data protection strategies under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). When it comes to background investigations, similar privacy considerations apply. You might want to check an individuals’ financial or credit history – relevant information if they own a business you seek to partner with or acquire, or if you are considering them for a high-level position at your organisation. Accessing such information is permitted in some jurisdictions and restricted by law in others. The last thing you want is to end up in court for violating someone’s privacy. It is best to engage a professional due diligence background screening firm. They will be trained and up-to-date on the laws governing your background investigations, plus they will have access to resources that most companies do not have.
Anjum: This goes back to the importance of having investigators in various locations, your ‘boots on the ground’, in your approach to due diligence. The world is much smaller these days as organisations seek to expand across international borders. And the COVID-19 is teaching leaders invaluable lessons in business efficiencies and future strategy. This can lead to obvious challenges – both following the laws and regulations in various jurisdictions and overcoming language and cultural barriers. That is why it is important to have access to locally-based agents – including certified fraud examiners and similarly credentialed professionals – to help with your checks, whether investigating a potential third-party partner or an individual being considered for employment. Another advantage is to have a set, written policy and process for conducting background investigations that you can reference and rely upon when undertaking key business decisions. In this way, your organisation is less susceptible to someone convincing you to bypass proper due diligence simply because it might seem logistically difficult to conduct an overseas investigation.
MITIGATE EMPLOYEE RISK BEFORE & AFTER HIRE? LEARN MORE HERE
Anjum: If red flags are uncovered, the best way to further investigate is to understand discrepancies. For example, suppose you are conducting background screening on a potential employee, and something comes up in their criminal record, rather than eliminating them from consideration. In that case, you should ensure that there was no error in your background check, investigate the discrepancy, gather all relevant information, and ask the person to explain what you found and why they did not disclose it. They might have an explanation that affects your decision process. In other words, do not overlook potential talent. According to Nacro, more than 11 million people in the UK have a criminal record – that’s 1 in 3 men – however, just over half of these had been convicted on only one occasion, and 85% were convicted before they were 30 years old. Not all of those have a prison record, however. Most convictions are for motoring offences, such as speeding or unpaid tickets.
Anjum: Intensive background investigations should be a part of an organisation’s standard procedures. It should be part of a greater risk management plan, be set forth as written policy that owners and directors approve, and be reviewed and understood by management and other relevant personnel. Engage risk management professionals when developing your policies and procedures. They can help tailor a plan based o your organisation. Key questions to address should include; who will implement the plan, how an investigation is conducted, who evaluates and reports the results, etc. Sometimes organisations put forth a thorough, excellent programme for background investigations and then, six months or a year later, nobody is following it. The key to success is following through with it and ensuring your entire organisation understands the process and why it is so important. The security of your company depends on effective risk management.
Background investigations are critical to any company’s success because working with qualified, honest and hard-working employees and other businesses is integral to thriving in the business community. What you don’t know can hurt you, and the simple act of one bad decision can result in an unprecedented loss for your company.
From vendor and third-party screening to employment screening, CRI Group™ recommends background investigations as critical proactive measures to help keep your business safe. An effective background screening investigation will help screen for bad apples that can cause havoc down the road. Because we maintain a diverse talent base comprised of multilingual and multi-cultural professionals, CRI™ can traverse obstacles that often impede international background investigations. That’s why we are frequently contracted by our competitors to conduct background investigations in geographic regions not serviced or accessible by larger investigative firms.
Zafar I. Anjum is Group Chief Executive Officer of CRI Group™ (www.crigroup.com), a global supplier of investigative, forensic accounting, business due to diligence and employee background screening services for some of the world’s leading businesses organisations. Headquartered in London (with a significant presence throughout the region) and licensed by the Dubai International Financial Centre-DIFC, the Qatar Financial Center-QFC, and the Abu Dhabi Global Market-ADGM, CRI Group safeguards businesses by establishing the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking to affiliate with your business. CRI Group maintains offices in UAE, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil, China, the USA, and the United Kingdom.
Contact CRI Group™ to learn more about its 3PRM-Certified™ third-party risk management strategy program and discover an effective and proactive approach to mitigating the risks associated with corruption, bribery, financial crimes and other dangerous risks posed by third-party partnerships.
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37th Floor, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AA United Kingdom e: zanjum@crigroup.com | LinkedIn | Schedule a meeting | t: +44 207 8681415 | m: +44 7588 454959
Global enterprises generally take the approach of conducting background verifications on candidates to ascertain the data that they present at the interview. One-time background verifications help organisations check candidate data while hiring but not after that. New forward-looking entrants have been disrupting the background screening industry with this trend. The continuous background screening process is a systematic technique and is not completely new. Companies can perform real-time background checks on employees to identify internal threats and flag them immediately when found. It is a post-hire employment screening process that applies to any specific part (or all) of your workforce.
Staying informed about the employees’ background is as important, or conceivably, more important than verifying the candidates’ data when they initially apply. Certain regulated industries have been performing some form of continuous background check of employees as it is a mandate – but most of them are not real-time. The best examples include high-risk industries like transportation, healthcare, and finance. But with the advent of rapidly evolving technology, real-time background screening that uses online record databases and digital platforms has allowed taking a proactive approach toward risk mitigation.
Now let’s take a deeper look at how this works. CRI Group™ looks for any change in candidates’ background data. It identifies them so that organisations can stay away from possible risks. When the background screening software detects an employee’s data change, it notifies the employee and begins verification. Furthermore, the tool will allow candidates disqualified due to criminal violations to resurface after an allowed time frame. This will empower employers to give a second chance to the employees and perform a more comprehensive pre employment background check on them.
Continuous background screening still has a paramount need to comply with regulatory policies. In addition to being compliant with global regulations, organisations must adhere to the state and local laws that pertain to disclosure and authorisation requirements and adverse action processes. It is recommended to follow the rules of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when any issues arise due to removing an employee based on the screening results.
The regulations demand the employer to get written consent from the employees before a background verification starts. Employers should take immense care to make the consent clear enough, failing which a new notice and fresh consent need to be provided the next time. But, even though the federal law (FCRA) accepts such practices, the state or local law might not (Californian laws, for instance).
HR teams need to be prepared for the worst – when an employee refuses to authorise a background verification stating it as a privacy intrusion. Hence, designing a screening program that adheres to global and local compliance is key.
CRI Group™ can help companies nip bad employees in the bud, thus ensuring the brand image is not affected by bad hires. Yet, surprisingly, an SHRM study states that only 4% of 6500 HR professionals said that their companies performed rolling background checks.
Employers should revisit their screening programs and incorporate technology-powered techniques like real-time screening, so they do not go blind in the interim.
Get in touch with us to learn more about how you can leverage employment screening services and proactively mitigate risks in real time. CRI Group™ is happy to assist you.
Based in London, CRI Group™ works with companies across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia-Pacific as a one-stop international Risk Management, Employee Background Screening, Business Intelligence, Due Diligence and other professional Investigative Research solutions provider. We have the largest proprietary network of background-screening analysts and investigators across the Middle East and Asia. Our global presence ensures that no matter how international your operations are we have the network needed to provide you with all you need, wherever you happen to be. CRI Group™ also holds BS 102000:2013 and BS 7858:2012 Certifications, is an HRO certified provider and partner with Oracle.
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