Investigations & Intelligence
Discreet enquiry that establishes what actually happened — in a boardroom or across a family's dining table — documented to a standard your counsel can rely on.
Turn suspicion into verified, documented fact.
Brief. Plan. Enquire. Corroborate.
Most organisations do not lack suspicion; they lack proof they can act on. We apply intelligence tradecraft — corroboration before conclusion, source protection, a clear line between what is known and what is inferred — to commercial matters and to matrimonial enquiry, our fastest-growing work. Every file is built on the assumption it may be read in court.
Founded by a Military Intelligence veteran of the Indian Army. The methodology that shapes this work is drawn from that discipline: collect, corroborate, analyse, and only then recommend.
What investigate actually delivers.
Eight capabilities, each with the work we do and the outputs you hold at the end of it. Open any one to read the detail.
Matrimonial & Pre-Matrimonial Investigations
Verification before a marriage is fixed, and discreet enquiry when one is already in difficulty. Pre-matrimonial work confirms what a proposal rests on: identity and family background, education and employment as stated, financial standing and liabilities, an earlier marriage, and any litigation or criminal record on public file. Post-matrimonial work takes the harder questions — an alleged second relationship, concealed assets, dowry demands, or conduct relevant to a maintenance, custody or divorce proceeding. Enquiry is lawful and at a distance: observation in public places and verification against records. We do not intercept calls or messages, access private accounts, or take work whose purpose is to intimidate or control someone.
What you receive
- Confidential pre-matrimonial report covering identity, family, education, employment, finances, marital history and local reputation
- Source-referenced findings with photographs, records and dated field notes where lawfully obtained
- A clear component-wise verified, discrepant or unverifiable status — never a rumour repeated as fact
- Evidence pack prepared to your advocate's requirements for matrimonial, maintenance or custody proceedings
- A single named handler, and no disclosure to any family member you have not authorised
Corporate Investigations
Enquiry into commercial wrongdoing inside or against your organisation — procurement manipulation, vendor collusion, kickbacks, conflict of interest, leakage of confidential information or breach of a restrictive covenant. We work quietly alongside your legal, HR and finance leadership so that the enquiry does not itself become the incident. Findings are separated into established fact, supported inference and open questions.
What you receive
- Confidential case file with a chronology and an indexed evidence schedule
- Documented interview records and signed statements where the subject cooperates
- Written findings distinguishing proven facts from inference and open lines
- Recommended remedial, disciplinary and control measures to prevent recurrence
Theft, Loss & Fraud Investigations
Investigation of shrinkage, pilferage, diversion in transit, weighbridge and gate-pass manipulation, scrap fraud, false claims and billing irregularities. We reconstruct the movement of goods or money against records, gate registers, camera footage and duty rosters to isolate where and when the loss occurred, and who had the access and opportunity. The work is designed to close the leak, not simply to name someone.
What you receive
- Loss reconstruction tracing the discrepancy to a location, shift and process step
- Reconciled evidence pack combining documents, footage and physical findings
- Identification of the control failure that permitted the loss to continue
- Report structured for use in disciplinary action, insurance claims or police complaint
Employee Misconduct Investigations
Fact-finding into workplace complaints and breaches — falsified records, unauthorised absence, moonlighting, misuse of company assets, harassment allegations, substance misuse or intimidation. We conduct the enquiry with procedural fairness so that the outcome survives scrutiny: notice, opportunity to respond, neutral questioning and a documented trail. Confidentiality of complainants and witnesses is protected throughout.
What you receive
- Independent, procedurally fair fact-finding report for the disciplinary authority
- Structured interview records of complainant, witnesses and the subject employee
- Evidence assessment addressing each allegation separately, on its own merits
- Guidance to HR on documentation gaps and process risk before any action is taken
Background Verification
Pre-employment and pre-engagement verification of the people you are about to trust with access, cash, data or authority — identity, address, stated employment history, education, and publicly available litigation and reputation checks. Depth is matched to the sensitivity of the role rather than applied uniformly to everyone. All checks are conducted with the required consent and within the limits of applicable law.
What you receive
- Verification report with a clear component-wise verified, discrepant or unverifiable status
- Documentary evidence and source notes supporting each component checked
- Discrepancy summary flagging gaps, contradictions and unexplained periods
- Role-appropriate check matrix so screening depth matches the risk of the position
Asset Tracing & Due Diligence
Verification of who you are actually dealing with before money or trust moves — corporate ownership and control, group affiliations, litigation history, operational reality of a stated address, and the traceable footprint of assets in a recovery or dispute. We rely on public records, registry filings and lawful field enquiry, and we state clearly what could not be established. No representation is made about what a court will ultimately find.
What you receive
- Entity and beneficial-ownership profile with registry and filing references
- Litigation, encumbrance and adverse-media findings with source citations
- Site verification confirming whether stated premises and operations exist
- Risk opinion with clearly stated limitations and unverified areas
Internal Intelligence Support
Standing, low-visibility awareness for organisations facing continuing exposure — early indicators of labour unrest, organised pilferage networks, agitation around a site, or repeated small incidents that suggest a pattern. Rather than a one-off enquiry, this is a periodic reading of the ground around your operation, ethically sourced and reported to a named recipient only. We do not conduct surveillance of lawful union activity or of protected employee organising.
What you receive
- Periodic ground assessment covering the site and its immediate environment
- Early-warning indicators with an assessed confidence level against each
- Pattern analysis linking minor incidents into a single, coherent picture
- Direct escalation line to your named point of contact for time-critical matters
Evidence Collection & Reporting
The discipline that makes every other enquiry usable. We collect, label and preserve physical, documentary and digital material with an unbroken chain of custody, and write reports that separate observation from opinion. Where a matter may proceed to a tribunal, an insurer or the police, we work to your counsel's requirements from the outset rather than reconstructing the file later.
What you receive
- Chain-of-custody documentation for every item collected and handed over
- Indexed evidence pack with exhibit references cross-linked to the narrative
- Statements and site records prepared in a format your counsel can work from
- Investigator availability to explain the record and the methodology used
Marry into facts, not into assurances.
A marriage proposal is the largest commitment most families ever make on the smallest amount of verified information — a photograph, a biodata sheet and the word of an intermediary. SHADO checks what that document claims before the date is fixed.
Before the alliance
Pre-Matrimonial Verification
Independent confirmation of everything a proposal asserts — and quiet discovery of what it leaves out. Completed before the engagement, so a family can proceed with confidence or withdraw without a scene.
- Identity, family background and standing in their own locality
- Education and employment verified against institutions and records
- Financial position, income indicators and visible liabilities
- Earlier marriage, engagement or a continuing relationship
- Character, habits and reputation among people who know them
- Litigation, criminal record and adverse public filings
How this work is held
Nobody learns you asked
One named handler, one recipient, an agreed cover for every approach. No intermediary, relative or broker is told an enquiry exists — and nothing is discussed with anyone you have not authorised by name.
Verified, not gossiped
Every finding is marked verified, discrepant or unverifiable, and carries its source. Where the neighbourhood says one thing and the record says another, you are told both — and told which one we stand behind.
Lawful means only
Public records, publicly observable movement and people who choose to speak with us. No call or message interception, no access to private accounts, no impersonation of officials — and no mandate accepted whose purpose is to harass or control anyone.
Handled by people who have done it
Matrimonial matters are run by investigators trained in military intelligence tradecraft, not by field staff working from a template. The same corroboration discipline applied to a corporate fraud file is applied to your family's decision.
Matrimonial enquiries are opened on a written mandate and closed with a written report. If a matter cannot be pursued lawfully, or appears intended to harass or control someone, we decline it and say why — speak to us first.
How a investigate engagement runs.
Four stages, agreed in writing before we begin, so you always know what is happening and what comes next.
Brief & Mandate
A confidential briefing with the smallest possible circle. We define the question to be answered, the lawful limits of the enquiry, who may know it is running, and how findings will be delivered.
Case Plan
A written plan setting out lines of enquiry, sequencing, the discretion required and the evidentiary standard to be met — reviewed with your legal counsel where the matter may lead to action.
Discreet Enquiry
Fieldwork, record examination, footage review and interviews conducted so that neither the subject nor the wider workforce is alerted, with progress reported to your single point of contact.
Corroborate & Report
Nothing is reported on a single source where corroboration is possible. You receive an evidence-referenced report that states what is proven, what is indicated, what remains open, and what to do next.
Built for the people who carry the risk.
If none of these describes your situation exactly, say so — the scoping conversation costs nothing and we would rather tell you early that you need something else.
Families and individuals before a marriage
Parents and prospective spouses evaluating a proposal who need the stated facts verified — quietly, before commitments are made and before either family is embarrassed by a question asked too late.
HR and legal leadership
Teams holding a serious allegation who need an independent, procedurally sound fact-finding record before disciplinary action, settlement or termination.
Plant, warehouse and retail operations
Operations carrying persistent unexplained shrinkage, transit losses or scrap and gate-pass irregularities where internal enquiry has stalled or is itself compromised.
Promoters, boards and finance leadership
Decision-makers about to appoint a partner, fund a counterparty or pursue a recovery, who need verification of who they are dealing with before commitment.
The questions that come up first.
Will a matrimonial enquiry ever get back to the other family?
That is the first thing we design against. Field enquiry is made through ordinary, unremarkable channels, no one is told who commissioned it, and we agree the cover story with you before anybody is approached. Reports go to one named person on your side and nowhere else. If a line of enquiry cannot be pursued without a real risk of exposure, we tell you and let you decide — we will not gamble your family's position to close a gap in a report.
How long does a pre-matrimonial check take, and what does it actually cover?
A standard pre-matrimonial enquiry takes seven to ten working days, and an urgent one can be compressed where the wedding date is close. It covers identity and family background, education and employment as stated, financial standing and visible liabilities, any earlier marriage, engagement or ongoing relationship, character and reputation in the person's own locality and workplace, and any litigation or criminal record on public file. You are told plainly which components were verified, which showed a discrepancy, and which could not be established.
Is a matrimonial investigation legal, and what will you not do?
Yes — verifying facts about a person you are being asked to marry, or gathering evidence for a matrimonial proceeding, is lawful when it is done through lawful means. We work from public records, publicly observable movement and enquiry among people who choose to speak with us. We do not intercept calls or messages, access anyone's phone, email or bank records, impersonate officials, or plant devices in private space. We also decline any mandate whose real purpose is to harass, stalk, intimidate or control a person, including work sought against a spouse who has left an abusive situation.
Can an investigation run without the workforce or the suspected employee finding out?
Discretion is the design constraint, not an afterthought. Enquiries are compartmented to a named recipient, fieldwork is planned to avoid drawing attention, and we agree in advance what cover the visit will carry. Where a stage cannot be completed without exposure — a formal interview, for example — we tell you before it happens so you can decide the timing.
Will your report stand up if we go to a labour tribunal or the police?
Reports are written on the assumption that they will be read by a third party. Evidence is indexed, chain of custody is documented, statements are recorded properly, and observation is kept separate from opinion. We are not a police agency and cannot compel testimony or seize property; where a matter needs statutory powers, we prepare the file so your counsel can take it forward.
How quickly can you deploy once we call, and how are we kept informed?
Initial briefing is usually possible within twenty-four hours and fieldwork typically begins within two to three working days, sooner where evidence is perishable — footage overwriting or stock about to move. You get a single point of contact, agreed reporting intervals, and immediate escalation if something time-critical emerges.
What happens if the investigation clears the person we suspected?
We report it, in the same detail and with the same evidence discipline. An enquiry that eliminates a suspicion is a successful enquiry — it protects an employee from a wrong accusation and redirects attention to the actual cause, which is very often a control failure rather than an individual.
Continue
Start with a conversation about investigate.
Tell us the site, the concern and the timeline. We will tell you honestly whether this is the right discipline for the problem.
Security. Intelligence. Assurance. — Pan India Presence