Case Overview
A leading technical equipment and industrial service provider in Nigeria noticed an inexplicable decline in renewal contracts from several long-standing commercial clients.
The business was losing key competitive bids that appeared tailor-made for its capabilities. Simultaneously, internal reports indicated that an executive director with broad sales authority was regularly reporting customer budget cuts and project cancellations.
Suspecting intellectual property theft, customer diversion, and covert competition, senior management engaged JOCRA to conduct an internal corporate inquiry into the executive's commercial dealings and external corporate ties.
"The purpose of investigative due diligence is not simply to verify whether a business or asset exists. It is to help clients understand what may sit behind representations, records, and commercial promises."
Client Concerns & Threat Exposure
The client required independent factual clarity on critical operational and commercial vulnerabilities before committing capital or undertaking legal action:
- Whether proprietary price lists, technical bids, and client databases were being exported to external parties.
- Whether corporate opportunities were being diverted to an outside business operated by or connected to the employee.
- Whether kickbacks or commissions were being collected through unapproved supplier arrangements.
- Ensuring employee privacy regulations and constitutional workplace protections were strictly respected.
- Securing legally defensible evidence suitable for summary dismissal, non-compete enforcement, and civil damages.
Investigative Objectives
Employee Role & Access Review
Establish the exact scope of duties, fiduciary obligations, and authorised information access under contract.
External Corporate Registry Mapping
Cross-reference executive name, aliases, and known associates across the corporate registry to identify conflicting businesses.
Customer Account Audit
Engage in discreet market inquiries with former clients to ascertain the true reasons for account departure.
Authorized Digital Evidence Examination
Perform lawful forensic analysis of company-owned laptops and email servers under strict corporate policy.
Loss Quantification & Legal Dossier
Calculate documented revenue losses attributable to diverted contracts to support legal claims.
JOCRA's Methodological Approach
JOCRA's methodology was based on reconstructing commercial workflows and examining documented relationships between internal roles, customer accounts, and external third parties.
Employee misconduct investigations require strict impartiality because commercial losses or employee associations do not automatically establish dishonesty. The inquiry operated strictly through authorized company IT infrastructure, customer contract audits, and corporate registry entity mapping.
Key Investigative Findings
Parallel Competing Entity
Corporate searches revealed a competing entity incorporated six months prior, registered to the employee's residential address with an immediate family member as director.
Direct Customer Diversion
Interviews with former clients confirmed the executive advised them that the employer was discontinuing the service line and directed them to the new entity.
Proprietary Bid Leakage
Lawful examination of company email archives revealed tender submissions and proprietary pricing algorithms forwarded to personal accounts.
Unauthorized Sourcing Margins
The employee had routed company procurement through a pass-through intermediary, adding a 25% markup retained personally.
Evidence & Verification Register
Every finding in JOCRA dossiers is cross-referenced against authentic source documentation and categorized according to strict evidentiary standards:
| Ref Code | Material Examined | Investigative Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR-01 | Employment contract, NDA, and intellectual property assignment covenants | Establish enforceable fiduciary duties and non-compete clauses | Verified |
| CORP-02 | CAC corporate registry certificates for parallel competing business | Prove undisclosed ownership and family directorship nexus | Verified |
| LOG-03 | Company email server archives and authorized laptop forensic logs | Document unauthorized exfiltration of client lists and tender docs | Verified |
| COMM-04 | Written client statements and RFP submission documents from competing firm | Prove diverted contracts and direct customer solicitation | Corroborated |
| FIN-05 | Invoices from pass-through vendor and internal payment vouchers | Quantify secret profits and fraudulent procurement markups | Verified |
Outcome & Strategic Recommendations
The factual discoveries delivered actionable intelligence enabling the client to mitigate material risk, avoid catastrophic capital allocation, and pursue appropriate legal remedies.
Immediate Suspension Under Due Process
Institute formal disciplinary hearings backed by the evidence pack, issuing immediate suspension with access revocation.
Interim Injunction & Anton Piller Order
Petition the High Court for an Anton Piller search and seizure order to impound proprietary data from the competing business.
Account of Profits Litigation
Commence civil litigation for an account of profits, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of diverted revenue.
Client Re-Engagement Campaign
Dispatch senior executive teams to briefed clients to clarify the company's capabilities and re-secure diverted contracts.