United States members of Intelnet frequently receive requests from clients that require the assistance from our international members. For a myriad of reasons, some of these requests result in unnecessary problems for all parties concerned. It is the responsibility of the requesting investigator to educate his/her client on the problems involved in conducting an international investigation. Among the many issues is the financial cost. It is unrealistic to expect that international hourly rates will be similar to, or lower than, rates within the United States. The recent decline of the dollar against the Euro and other currencies has dramatically increased the costs of an investigation. The current average minimum hourly rate for international investigations is in the $150.00 to $200.00 range.
Another issue is the manner in which international records are maintained and the bureaucratic road blocks to speedy compliance with requests. In the United States, the vast majority of records and documents are accessible via computer with the generation of immediate results. It should be remembered that more than 90% of the world works to old-fashioned investigative standards and practices and has draconian secrecy laws for all investigations, including asset searches and background checks. In some instances, the bureaucracy requires that only a limited number of individuals have access to records. This could mean an extended period of response time when the designated person is unavailable to process the request.
Another issue in the international arena is the additional travel time required because of the distance involved in getting to records storage locations at distant locations. The poor quality transportation system in some countries dramatically increases the travel time required to complete a project. In non-English speaking countries there is also the cost and time required for translations. The actual and incidental bureaucratic costs of obtaining records on a timely basis must also be considered. In some foreign venues, non-native requests for information are not given the same priority as requests from indigenous personnel.
In addition, corruption can be a factor in some developing countries, thus has to be included in any pricing arrangements. When a client or fellow investigator is quoted a fee from an overseas provider estimated to be in the $150 to $200 per hour range, the potential customer often times decides to get a quote from several other local providers in the country concerned. Fair enough. Sometimes local providers will be in a better position to quote lower than an international provider, usually based on lower overhead; but sometimes based issues of corruption. Transparency International ranks many countries in the developing world much higher on the list of corrupt countries than those in the Western World. And unfortunately, that occasionally trickles down into our industry. Unfortunately, some local providers, though not necessarily the majority, may discard your legal papers in a process service, and prepare a fraudulent affidavit of service. Or, they may engage in “ghost writing” negative results, never having conducted the required leads in the first place; taking your money for a little literary effort.
How to minimize the costs and time delay for completion of international requests is contingent on the preparatory actions of the requesting investigator. It is incumbent upon the requestor to advise the client of the difficulties encountered in international jurisdictions. Of primary consideration should be the explanation that foreign privacy and secrecy laws are considerable more restrictive than United States laws. Records that are commonly available in the United States may not be available in other countries. Secondarily, the client needs to be advised that it normally requires additional time to complete an international investigation because of the unique political and judicial situation in each country.
There are certain steps that the requesting investigator can accomplish to facilitate the investigation.
- Consider the international investigator as an integral part of your investigative team by taking the investigator into your complete confidence and providing ALL pertinent details surrounding your client’s request. This could require the requesting investigator to obtain the client’s consent and having the international investigator execute a non-disclosure or non-compete agreement if necessary.
- The approach to information disclosure should be to “tell everything, as if you were handing over the case to a new investigator.” This approach allows the international investigator who is uniquely acquainted with the local culture and bureaucratic structure to analyze the request and prepare an investigative plan in accordance with the laws of the foreign area. It is essential to solicit advice from the international investigator who may be able to provide direction to an area not known to the requestor.
- The agreement with the client should document the explanation of problems encountered in other countries, such as record keeping systems, translation problems, and travel. The agreement should also specify the approximate turn-around-time, costs and budget limits, reporting standards, i.e., need for official documents and signed statements, and translation responsibilities.
- When considering time constraints, it is important to coordinate with the foreign investigator to arrive at a reasonable and manageable time line.
Appropriate prior planning will prevent misunderstandings and unanticipated results.
Originally published in PI Magazine, June 2008