Open Source Intelligence: The Tip of the Compliance Spear

Some human beings are wonderful. Some are middle of the road and some are truly terrible. Terrible human beings are frequently indistinguishable from wonderful ones. How can we tell them apart? In the context of business relationships, the tip of the compliance spear in attempting to separate the good from the bad is frequently open source intelligence investigations. Sometimes referred to as investigative due diligence or background investigations, this investigative tool can be a game changer when it comes to counterparty risk. Since leaving the FBI in 1996, I have overseen tens of thousands of such investigations and have designed and implemented programs to risk rank counterparties and perform investigative due diligence of customers, borrowers, investment targets, vendors and intermediaries commensurate with their potential risk.