Unravelling the black hole: iSanctuary's forensic investigation of a decade-long financial scheme in an UK arm of an international pharmaceutical company.

iSanctuary were engaged by a law firm following the discovery that the finance director, of an international chemicals company, had stolen substantial amounts of money from his employer over a period of ten years. The theft was discovered following an audit that identified significant VAT underpayments, which consequently disclosed a ‘black hole’ in the company accounts. The evidence pointed to criminality on the part of the finance director, who was not forthcoming in providing a detailed explanation of what he had done with the money. Without evidence confirming criminal behaviour, our client would have had to bear the responsibility of making good the deficit; therefore, it was imperative to locate assets gained through fraud and theft to help address significant monetary loss for the client. Our brief was to conduct a forensic investigation of the theft, to establish where the funds had gone, and identify and recover criminal proceeds; this included deploying iSanctuary’s in-house forensic accountant and the forensic examination of associated computers and digital media. Our investigation of the subject and his familial network identified properties, businesses, vehicles, personal assets, and substantial expenditures. We were able to illustrate how the stolen monies used supported the subject’s lifestyle, including substantial investments in a marital property which increased its value significantly, and investments into his wife’s current business. We provided an evidential witness statement to support a successful Norwich Pharmacal Order application for associated banking material which provided supporting evidence of the subject’s criminality and movement of funds.