The Discreet Power of Confidential Human Source Inquiries
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March 26, 2025
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At a time when the public discourse is centered around cutting-edge technology solutions and developments in hot topics such as artificial intelligence, it is bold and arguably advantageous to reconsider human-based solutions for some of our most pressing business needs. Discreet source inquiries (often referred to as human intelligence or ‘HUMINT’) are an investigative tool dependent on the interest, availability and ability of humans to share information with one another. It can provide an alternative or more complete narrative that can unhinge any technology-based solution, modus operandi or norm anytime and anywhere. Discreet source inquiries often serve to fill the gaps in public records and financial statements to expose not just business concerns and outcomes but also the human experience of the individuals involved – the rest of the story.
It is often an overlooked art: the meticulous and cautious effort to discreetly approach the right person at the right time in the hope of obtaining valuable insight on a matter of great concern. Discreet source inquiries are a powerful tool that investigators can use to gather actionable information that goes beyond rumors and hearsay to help resolve open questions or information gaps in the public domain and lead investigators down new investigative paths.
For nearly a decade, we have helped strategize, design and lead fascinating source work around the world that has placed clients and counsel in stronger positions to make more informed decisions about some uniquely complex issues. Whether the client is anxious about closing a deal with a new, lesser known player to one who may be in a dispute with a long-standing business partner, clients and counsel have turned to FTI Consulting to obtain unique insight into complex issues such as, but not limited to: conflicts of interest, anticompetitive behavior, violations of noncompete agreements and allegations of fraud, corruption or bribery. Clients have also turned to us for general intelligence gathering in a proactive effort to get ahead of an issue before it breaks or becomes public or to obtain valuable information about how others are operating in the market for the purpose of a marketing study or investment plan. Our source work has assisted clients in deciding whether or not to pursue a business deal or investment opportunity, terminate a business relationship, vet clients, business partners and/or employees, and, if litigation is pursued, what legal strategy to take and what legal arguments to make.
Below, we outline some of the benefits of discreet source inquiry work as well as some of its challenges and risks.
Compounded Benefits
First-Hand Knowledge Commentary
Interviews with sources who have direct, first-hand knowledge of an issue, and who can provide precise commentary that is not already known to the client, have numerous benefits. Such commentary can lead investigators closer to evidence, provide necessary context to assess the veracity of certain allegations, as well as the severity and impact of potential reputational, commercial, and/or legal risks.
As an example, FTI Consulting is frequently retained by companies during vetting of potential clients to explore opaque sources of wealth and possibles risks, including exposure to sanction laws. In one case, we were retained to assess whether a potential client was actively engaged in contracts with a sanctioned government and receiving payments for that work in-country. Such claims were publicized in local media; however, through a careful and thoughtful approach to identify the right sources close to the target country government and knowledgeable of the company’s operations as well as of the activities of its key executives and shareholders, we obtained commentary from multiple senior sources who refuted the claims and provided the necessary context and a timeline related to the potential client’s retreat from the jurisdiction in question. Our sources were also able to explain the political environment and certain tensions in the country which contributed to misleading media reporting on the target company. Through FTI Consulting’s work, our client was in a better position to continue with its onboarding process.
Diving Into the Unknown for Investigative Leads
Discreet source commentary can also provide additional tips and insight which can lead investigators to other sources of information previously unknown to the investigator or client. This may lead to the discovery of additional evidence and parties involved, for example.
We are often retained to investigate lesser known or low-profile companies and, through those efforts, have uncovered silent partners and investors with controversial profiles previously undisclosed to our clients. In one engagement, our team identified references in the public domain to offshore companies associated with a company with which our client was in a commercial dispute. Through extensive discreet source inquiries with human sources close to the offshore companies, our team uncovered undisclosed investors with a unique source of wealth concerns in additional jurisdictions unknown to the client. The information we provided was critical to assisting the client’s counsel in formulating its legal strategy in the dispute.
Staying Ahead / Getting in Front of an Issue
The use of discreet source inquiries is a valuable tool that can, if structured and timed correctly, enable a client to stay ahead of issues that have not yet become public or stay ahead of its competitors or adversaries in legal disputes.
In a pre-acquisition matter, FTI Consulting spoke with several former employees of our client’s acquisition target to gain a better understanding of potential operational and reputational risks in advance. Our sources, who were close to several aspects of the target company’s operations, revealed severe performance issues, including quiet market withdrawals after failing to keep up with competitors and reputational concerns about a key principal. FTI Consulting’s findings were central to the Client’s decision on whether to pursue the acquisition.
In another fascinating example, our team assisted a client who faced a difficult decision to potentially offboard existing clients over various corruption allegations. By engaging key sources familiar with the subjects as well as legal and regulatory experts, we assessed the nature of the subjects’ involvement and the alleged events to determine the potential residual legal and regulatory risks involved. With this information, the client was in a better position to decide whether to terminate these commercial relationships.
Challenges and Risks
Despite its benefits, conducting discrete source inquiries take time and are not without risks.
Time
Depending on the nature of the investigation and regulatory or legal requirements a client may have to meet, time is often restricted and allocated sparingly throughout the various phases of investigative work.
Investigators need time to identify potential human sources and plan an ethical, legal and thoughtful approach to each. Time is also needed to prepare salient research questions which are customized to each source’s perceived experience and knowledge of a particular issue. Once a plan is finalized, it may take even more time to successfully contact and secure a response from each source, build enough trust for the source to agree to an interview, and schedule an interview.
After an interview is conducted, investigators need to take time to organize and assess the information they gathered, contextualize it and clearly and precisely communicate it back to the client.
An important aspect of this work is the verification process in which investigators must assess the veracity of the information received from human sources. Our investigators take time to conduct additional public records and media research as well as conduct additional interviews, if necessary, to corroborate, to the extent possible, any relevant commentary before sharing it with our clients.
Bias
The personal experiences of a source are always poised to warp the truth. No one is immune from bias, and it is the job of a seasoned interviewer to identify its presence in commentary and craft questions that get at the heart of a matter.
Bias can appear as benign but impactful characterizations of events as told through the lens of an interviewee or can be a malicious attempt by a source to create some sort of impact, positive or negative, on the interviewer’s perception target in pursuit of their own ends.
As much as possible, investigators should research past actions and statements by the source regarding the target and speak with as many sources as possible to assemble a patchwork of commentary that provide a fuller image of the truth as it really is, not as it is told by one individual.
Additionally, the investigator must ensure that they approach each interview from a place of neutrality and prepare lists devoid of leading questions that impart their own biases or humor those of the source.
Blow-Back
No matter how well thought out, careful, and planned they are, discreet source inquiries carry an innate risk of blow-back, a risk that information about the investigator and/or investigation can get back to the target of the investigation. To ensure the greatest probability of success, investigators should identify multiple potential sources to approach and may run the risk of contacting a source who may be favorable to the target of the investigation. If their efforts are not appropriately contained, a net too broad can be cast and the target of an investigation can be tipped off.
Ethical and Legal Questions
Investigators must be cautious when conducting discreet source work to obtain information ethically, responsibly, and legally. To avoid concerns over misrepresentation and pretexting, just two examples of tactics used to obtain information under false pretenses, investigators should approach potential sources in an honest manner. This can be done without exposing the client. This approach is also desirable as it can produce information that can be admitted in court and can avoid creating a perception in the market that the investigator and/or client obtains information unethically or unlawfully.
As a publicly listed company, FTI Consulting is careful in obtaining information legally and ethically. Our discreet interviews and related interactions are therefore conducted according to the highest legal and ethical standards. This provides our clients with comfort that the information we obtain can be used and will not produce an unnecessary burden onto our clients.
Confidentiality and Privilege
Work that is done confidentially, in which sources’ identities are protected, is crucial to obtaining higher-quality information and increases an investigator’s chance of securing interviews. Sources tend to feel more comfortable and may speak more openly and freely if they understand that their identity will be protected.
Depending on the nature of the investigation and complexity of the issues at hand, discreet source inquiry work should be conducted under legal privilege. Given the non-public nature of the information obtained, this approach would protect actionable information that counsel may rely on to legally advise a client.
Conclusion
If not planned or executed carefully, source work can become messy, provide no valuable or actionable intelligence and risk exposing the client and its concerns to the target of an investigation.
When considering employing this powerful investigative tool, it is important to team up with investigators you can trust, who are ethical, and who will abide by applicable local, national and international laws so that the information you do obtain is accurate, timely, actionable, and, if possible, admissible in a court of law or tribunal.
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Published
March 26, 2025
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