We do not tolerate any form of Animal Abuse so feel free to Report any such Complaints to us Immediately.

Private / Forensic Investigations
Criminal, Civil, Corporate, Domestic & Industrial Cases
Cheating Spouse, Child Custody & Child Maintenance
Social Media & Romance Scamming
Bribery, Extortion & Blackmail Investigations
Missing & Abducted Persons Investigations
Internet Fraud, Theft and Misrepresentation
Murder, Rape, Theft, Assault, Espionage & Fraud Cases 

24Hr Surveillance and Specialised Security
Full Background Checks, Criminal & Credit Checks
Financial and Asset Checks
Vehicle Ownership & Circulation Information
Recovery of Funds and Assets in Criminal Cases.
Undercover Operations & Surveillance
Cellular Forensics, Rica Information
Location Based Services (ping) and Bugging
Cellphone Call Logs and Data Recovery
Cellular / What's app Retrieval (Deleted or Not)
Truck Driver Background Services
Medical History Verification
Assistance in Court / CCMA Hearing
Matric Certificate Verification
Further Study Qualification Verifications
Title Deed and Bonds
Drivers License & PDP Verification
ID and ID Photo Verification
Vehicle Ownership Check & HPI Checks
Retrieval of Court Documents
Retrieval of Deed Office Documents
Retrieval of Death Certificates
Trust Searches & Property Valuations
Marital Status Verifications 

Protection and Harassment Orders Assistance
Child Maintenance Application
Bail Applications and Bail Bond
Protection of Children Rights
Application for Eviction Orders
Application for Criminal Expungement
Application for Liquor Licenses
Drawing up of Contracts and Wills
Lease Agreement *Purchase Agreement
Debt Agreement and Tracing of Bad Debtors 

Pre-employment testing
Digital Forensic Voice Stress analysis / Polygraph testing, could be used as a prerequisite for employment in order to establish if candidates are honest and if they have been involved in any crime in their past / previous jobs.

Routine / Periodic testing
Digital Forensic Voice Stress analysis / Polygraph testing, could be used as an pro active measure, during employment in order to deter staff from eg. stealing from you or your company or to establish if theft for eg., has already taken place.

Specific incident testing
Digital Forensic Voice Stress analysis / Polygraph testing, could be used as a re-active, investigative measure when a specific incident has taken place in order to establish if any of your staff members were involved.

AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System)
Criminal background screening
Qualification verification
Credit checks etc.

TO DO THIS

Our Investigators ask one of two types of Handwriting Samples Produced by a Suspect. A Handwriting Analyst then carefully compares samples written by the suspect with the writing on the Fraudulent Checks.

Is the authenticity of a handwriting / signature / document under question or in dispute? 

Is it genuine, forged, an original, cut and paste, traced, simulated, altered?

Do you have reason to dispute or question signatures or handwriting?

Do you suspect that a document has been altered?

• Based in Meyerton, South Africa, work is taken on Nationally and Internationally.
• Our Services Include Identifying the Authenticity of Disputed Handwriting and/or Signatures based on a Study Involving the Comparison and Identification of the samples which is supported by the level of Significance of the Similarities and Dissimilarities. We follow the processes of a Forensic Signature, Handwriting and Document Examiner and Investigator.
• Our reports gives our opinion based on Scientific Principles and Clearly Describe and Outline in Detail our Findings. 

CAPACITY
As our Handwriting Expert and Forensic Handwriting and Document Examiner, we provide an opinion as to whether Signatures or Handwriting or Documents are Authentic or not.

This includes but is not limited to:

• Identification and Individualisation of Handwriting and Signatures; 
• Awareness of the various factors that can interfere with Handwriting (e.g., position of the writer, physical condition, influence of alcohol, medication, illness, writing surface and writing instruments
• Knowledge and Ability to Distinguish Forgery Methods in Handwriting
• Knowledge and Ability to Collect known/reference Handwriting Exemplars suitable for Comparison
• Knowledge and Ability to Observe Handwriting detail (pattern recognition)
• Knowledge and Ability to Analyse, Compare and Evaluate Handwriting Characteristics of letters/words, ability to compare individual characteristics in questioned writing with known handwriting

Our Examiner also Examine the Physical Properties of Documents e.g. paper, ink, additions and erasures to investigate fraud or document tampering. Our Examiner do not offer a Chemical Analysis of Paper and Inks. This includes but is not limited to:

• Identification and individualisation of typescript and typed and printed matter and stamped impressions
• Identification of forgeries; erasures and addition
• Deciphering of obscured writing and indentations
• Any other examination concerning questioned documents and handwriting excluding ink and paper analysis

Forensic Handwriting / Signature and Document Analysis, Handwriting Analysis

Forensic Handwriting / Document and Signature Analysis and Examination is the Application of Scientific Methods and Techniques to Investigate whether Handwriting or Signatures or Documents are genuine, or fraudulent. Examinations are completed to determine whether Disputed Documents or Writings have been Altered, Traced, Simulated or Cut and Paste. Has Information been Inserted or Erased?

A Handwriting Analyst uses Handwriting features for Personality Profiling. Handwriting Analysis is the Psychology of Handwriting.

• Forensic Handwriting / Document and Signature Analysis, Examination, Authentication and Verification.

Disputed Writings, Including Signatures, Initials or Documents are Analysed and Verified for Authenticity and Genuineness. Contact me for any matter where a Document or Writings Require Verification.

• Labour
• Corporate including contracts 
• Medical-legal
• Insurance
• Personal matters including 
• Anonymous and threatening notes
• Contested wills​
• Handwriting Analysis

Also known as graphology, reveals the personality characteristics of a writer at the time of writing including a person's talents, competencies and strengths.

Handwriting Analysis is a valuable tool for:

• Employment screening, executive personality profiling, conflict resolution
• Personality profiling
• Compatibility studies for business and personal use
• Wellness days
• Career guidance
• Marketing including logo analysis for marketing strategies, branding and identity

WHAT WE DO

• Forensic Handwriting / Signature / Document Examiner 
• Forensic Signature Authentication / Identification
• Statement Analysis
• Handwriting Analysis

Due Diligence Investigations: Getting your business DD-Ready

As an entrepreneur, reaching the stage of seeking investment can be very exciting. You dream of all the ways in which your business can grow bigger and faster with funding, but each time realise that investors won’t commit cash until they have completed a Due Diligence Investigation. The idea of your company documents being checked with a fine toothed comb can bring all types of Insecurities to the surface, and so the Due Diligence Investigation can be the largest hurdle that you have to overcome in closing the deal.

What is a Due Diligence Investigation, and how can you prepare for it? This article takes a high-level look at what a Due Diligence Investigation (often referred to as a ‘DD’) entails, and the practical steps you can take to get your business DD-ready.

A DD is often the first impression (in real terms) that investors get of your business, so making the right impression is essential. If your ‘back office’ is a mess, it could cause investors to lose confidence in you and have doubts about the safety of their investment. But, with a small amount of discipline, this can be turned around, and you could give an excellent impression to investors and keep the momentum of the deal on track.

The purpose of a DD

To understand the purpose of a DD, you need to look at things from the investor’s perspective. Bear in mind that the investor could be:

• a person or company who is going to buy shares in your company (such as a private equity investor) or take over your company by buying all of the shares; or

• a person or company who is going to buy your business as a going concern.

The nature of the deal will influence the nature of the DD itself.

Whatever form the deal takes, the investor is probably going to part with a fair amount of money in making the investment. No investor is going to invest money in a company or a business (‘the target’) which it doesn’t know much about. The purpose of the DD is to give the investor enough information about the target to allow it to identify, understand and quantify “deal breakers” and other risks associated with the target. Essentially, the investor wants to know exactly what it’s investing in, and what risks would go along with that investment.

The DD Process

The DD process will usually start with the investor signing a non-disclosure agreement, in which it agrees that the information that you disclose as part of the DD will be kept confidential. Next, the investor will provide you with a list of documentation that it would like to see, so that its attorneys and accountants can review it. We’ll go into what kind of documentation might be requested, below.

The investor might also provide you with a list of questions about the target (your business or your company) which it would like you (or other senior members of the organisation) to answer. Those answers would be recorded and would form part of the overall DD documentation.

The documentation is sometimes given in hard-copy, but is frequently uploaded into a cloud-based folder, for example a DropBox folder – also known as a virtual data room. The DropBox folder would be accessible to the investor’s advisors, who would then read through all the DD documentation and prepare a report, known as the DD report, identifying any concerns or potential issues. The DD report is prepared for the benefit of the investor.

Depending on the state of the target, the risks identified in the DD report might be so great or so numerous that the investor decides it would rather not do the deal at all. In other cases, the investor remains keen to invest, but it may try to negotiate a better purchase price on the basis that the target is not worth as much as the original asking price. In still other cases, the DD report simply gives the investor a sense of what issues may need attention in the future, once the investor has come on board.

Because the DD can be a long process, it will often run concurrently with negotiation of the final transaction agreements. It may even be ongoing when the transaction agreements are signed – but if that is the case, the implementation of the transaction agreements will always be suspended until the DD is finished, and the investor has confirmed that it’s happy with the outcome.

DD Documentation

The documentation requested by the investor for the DD will typically cover all areas of the target.

One of the key areas is documentation and information on the target’s employees. An investor may request the following:

• copies of all employment agreements (especially of senior or key staff);

• information about pension and provident funds, and whether there are any deficits in those funds;

• a full list of employee-related liabilities of the target as at a particular date – salaries, bonuses and over-time payments owed, leave days accumulated, and any other amounts owed to employees;

• information about whether the employees are unionised with a trade union, or whether trade unions play an active role in the target’s industry; and

• a list of all existing and/or potential disputes with employees, including at the CCMA and/or the Labour Court.

Another key area for which investors often request information is property. An investor may request the following:

• information as to whether the target owns or leases the premises from which it operates;

• copies of the title deeds of all immoveable property owned by the target (if any);

• copies of the leases that the target has concluded in respect of its premises (if any); and

• copies of or information about any site-specific licenses that the target needs in order to conduct its business.

Of crucial important to the investor will be the various commercial contracts that the target is a party to. The investor will probably request the following:

• copies of all contracts with the target’s suppliers;

• copies of all contracts with the target’s customers or clients;

• if target is licensed to distribute certain products or use certain branding, copies of those license and distribution agreements; and

• copies of contracts with independent contractors that provide services to the target.

In looking at the commercial contracts, the investor will be hoping to identify any terms which are unusual, onerous or unfair to the target. It will also be identifying any so-called ‘change of control’ provisions.

Most contracts will contain a clause stating that, if the target undergoes a change of control (in other words, there is a change in the person who owns or controls the target), and the target does not get the counter-party’s consent for that change in advance, the contract will terminate. By identifying all those change of control provisions, the investor can make sure that the target gets the necessary consents in advance, so that the contracts are not terminated as a result of the deal going through.

The investor will also request a full list of the assets that the target needs to conduct its business. The assets could be tangible (such as machinery) or intangible (such as intellectual property, for example a valuable brand name). The investor will want to see proof as to:

• whether the assets are owned by the target, or whether they are leased;

• if the assets have been used as security (pledged or bonded) for any debt of the target; and

• where the assets are intangible, whether they are owned by the target, or by somebody else. If they are owed by somebody else, the investor will want to see the license agreement which permits the target to use them. If they are owned by the target, the investor will want to know whether that IP has been registered in the target’s name.

Details of the target’s debt and borrowing will be of major interest to the investor. The investor will want to know how much the target owes to the bank and to other lenders, including (where the target is a company) to shareholders that have lent money to the company over time. The investor will want to see copies of all loan agreements (including the terms of the target’s overdraft facility with the bank, if any). Loan agreements almost always contain change of control provisions. In addition, and as mentioned above in relation to assets, the investor will want to know what security the target has given for its debts.

Aside from existing debt, the investor will also want to know about the target’s other liabilities, including disputes and litigation/court cases in which the target is involved. Any dispute which could give rise to a monetary liability for the target will be of interest to the investor. Disputes which could result in reputational damage will also be of interest. In many cases, investors will ask targets to list matters which have not yet become a formal dispute, but which could evolve into a dispute over time. Examples of typical disputes include labour law disputes, intellectual property and licensing disputes, claims for breach of contract or non-payment (whether by the target or by the target’s customers).

Finally, and to the extent that the target is a company in which the investor is going to acquire shares – rather than a business that will be bought as a going concern – the investor will want to see copies of the target’s corporate documents. These include the following:

• a copy of the target’s memorandum of incorporation;

• a copy of the target’s shareholders agreement (if any);

• a list of current directors, as issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC);

• a copy of the company registration certificate, as issued by CIPC;

• copies of the minutes of director and shareholder meetings;

• copies of director and shareholder resolutions that have been adopted in recent years;

• copies of the share certificates that the target has issued; and

• a copy of the target’s share register, showing who owns the shares in the target, as well as past share transfers.

Aside from the documents and information described above, the investor will also want to do a financial and/or tax DD investigation, and will accordingly request access to the target’s financial information and its accounts. This portion of the DD would typically be done by accountants or auditors, although tax attorneys may be involved as well.

It will be clear from the discussion above that a DD is a major exercise. Because closing of the deal is usually subject to completion of the DD and the investor being happy with the outcome, completion of a DD is one of the most common reasons for failure of the deal or  delay in deal closure. Ensuring that your business is DD-ready is the first step in accelerating the DD process, impressing investors and closing deals as seamlessly and advantageously as possible.