Client:

International Corporate Customer

Location:

Iraq

Task:

Investigation

Task Components:

Explore links between named individuals and groups | Provide a report on how the customer is perceived in-country | Were elements of the customer’s activities open to abuse and, if so, how was this manifest and how widespread was the abuse? | Examine the political activities/aspirations of named individuals | Comment on how government policy might impact upon customer operations | Offer mitigating measures the customer may employ to counter actual/perceived commercial threats in-country

A market-leading, International customer was pursuing a sensitive internal case that involved a range of stakeholder groups and named individuals, across a number of geographical jurisdictions. Rhodius was approached to assist with a specific phase of the investigation, based upon our unique access into Iraq, and also our ability to manage the task using experienced and skilled consultants.

Using our deep understanding of Iraq, and consultant presence on the ground, Rhodius was able to interact with a number of stakeholders as we created written and verbal briefing products for the customer. These reports were produced to precise requirements and within tight constraints on time. They needed to be consistent with current law enforcement formats and accurately grade the reliability of information received. Our work required the utmost discretion, coupled with an ability to dissect and extract critical pieces of information from a multitude of human and data sources. Information was offered in both English and Arabic, which required careful translation and interpretation in order to build a contextual baseline for analysis and assessment.

Rhodius was required to quickly understand a range of complex issues and deploy a consultant within two weeks as part of a customer-led scoping visit into Monrovia, Liberia.  The customer was keen to ensure that a thorough security assessment and survey would guide their market entry strategy, thus allowing them to set and maintain tight financial controls over security-related spending.  It was also clear that donor confidence would be increased through better transparency and accountability in this area.

The customer initially approached a service provider with whom they had an existing relationship, however, they did not possess the necessary past performance in Iraq. Rhodius was able to provide the access and personnel to support this task within agreed timelines, and provided feedback that not only met the requirement, but also opened new lines of investigation.

Rhodius’ engagement helped accelerate this phase of the investigation by confirming/denying the level of involvement of named individuals and other stakeholders. We were also able to propose risk mitigation measures that could be implemented quickly to protect individuals, assets and the customer’s reputation.

The output of our work helped open new lines of investigation, refined and focused existing investigative resources onto areas of greater interest, and offered assistance to subsequent phases as needed.