A corporate investigation is not same as investigating a person for personal reasons. It requires a different approach. Your company may not have senior executives trained in investigating corporate frauds. You will need services of a professional corporate investigations Singapore company to conduct an investigation in your company. Each person involved with the fraud must be investigated properly. Take help of professional corporate investigation services if you have come across a serious financial fraud or any other crime in your organization.
When Should You Conduct an Investigation?
In some cases, you are under regulatory obligations to conduct an investigation, otherwise you yourself may be held for the fraud or crime. Failing to conduct the investigation can lead to legal problems. Government departments regulating your type of company and business can take action and penalize you. It can result in legal action that can lead to penalties which can range from simple fines to even incarceration in jail. You may have to exclude an in-house senior employee, attorney or shareholder from conducting any such internal investigation. You are required to hire an independent investigation agency that has authority to conduct such an investigation.
What Should Be Self-Disclosed to the Enforcement Authorities?
Once the internal investigation is complete, your company may be required to share its report immediately with the relevant law enforcement authorities if any unlawful activity has been detected. In other cases, you can avoid reporting such an incident and limit it to internal actions like removing the accused employees from their posts or blacklisting partner contractors. Anything should be reported accurately and openly. It is at the discretion of law enforcement authorities to determine how to proceed with the case. Genuine cooperation with the government investigation is viewed favorably and can result in less severe penalties. There is no regulatory or statutory requirement in Singapore to disclose an internal investigation to the enforcement authorities. However, it does not cover some types of internal investigation reports and disclosures.
Cooperate with the Investigating Government Departments
It is not mandatory for any entity to start an internal investigation once it comes under a government investigation. However, in most cases, it is better to conduct such an investigation to make sure all records are secured before anyone tries to destroy them. The findings and results of the corporate investigation must be shared with the investigating authorities as and when required.
Once you have detected an internal fraud or come under an investigation by the law enforcement authorities, you should take necessary steps as quickly as possible. You have to perform timely data collection, document review and evidence preservation as required under the corporate investigations Singapore laws.
