Anonymised engagement summaries demonstrating our investigative approach and outcomes.
A white-collar defence team at a Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)-based law firm was preparing to represent a client facing regulatory proceedings. The opposing party's allegations rested on a chain of transactions that the client maintained were legitimate. The firm needed independent intelligence to reconstruct what had actually occurred: not a database report, but investigative findings that could withstand cross-examination.
Tier 3 investigation combining deep public record analysis across three jurisdictions, multi-language media and court filing searches, and, critically, professional reference interviews with former employees and business associates of the opposing party, conducted under pretext-free methodology to ensure admissibility.
Reference interviews identified a former associate of the opposing party whose direct testimony contradicted the core allegations. Our source register and confidence grading gave the defence team an audit-ready evidentiary foundation. The regulatory body reduced charges significantly before hearing.
A PE firm's standard screening provider returned a clean report on an acquisition target. The client sought a second opinion before a $30M+ commitment.
Tier 3 investigation including HUMINT, network mapping, and multi-language media analysis.
Investigation revealed an undisclosed beneficial owner with active litigation in two jurisdictions and sanctions-adjacent connections, none of which appeared in commercial databases. The client withdrew from the transaction.
A UHNW family office needed to vet a candidate for a senior household position with direct access to family residences, minor children, and financial records.
Tier 2 investigation with enhanced reference interviews and social network analysis.
Investigation identified significant discrepancies between the candidate's stated employment history and verified records, including a dismissed misconduct allegation at a previous employer that had been settled under Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The family office declined the appointment.
A Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) seeking Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) licensing needed principal person due diligence on three proposed directors, including one with a complex multi-jurisdictional corporate history.
Tier 2 investigation across all three subjects, with Tier 3 escalation on the complex subject.
Two subjects cleared. The third subject's investigation revealed regulatory enforcement actions in a non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) jurisdiction that had not been disclosed in the application. The VASP restructured its board composition before submission.
A physical metals trading firm's desk-based due diligence cleared a cobalt supplier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but could not verify whether mineral origin documentation was genuine or whether the supply chain had exposure to armed group financing at the aggregation level.
In-country HUMINT investigation: senior partner deployed to Katanga province for three weeks, established source network among mine-site operators, transport workers, and permit officials, and conducted discreet verification of the supplier's operational claims.
Investigation revealed that approximately 40% of the supplier's declared cobalt volume originated from artisanal mines controlled by an armed group, laundered through a Chinese-owned aggregation facility with falsified certificates of origin. The trading firm suspended the counterparty relationship and reported findings under Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Step 3 framework.
An Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)-regulated fund manager was onboarding a new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) sourced through an international headhunter. The candidate presented prestigious academic credentials, a decade of portfolio management experience at two European institutions, and no adverse findings on any commercial screening platform. The firm's compliance team needed independent verification before granting the individual signatory authority over client assets.
Tier 2 Enhanced Due Diligence with targeted Tier 3 escalation. Credential verification through direct institutional contact, not database lookups. Professional reference interviews with four former colleagues identified independently by Sentinel Provenance, not from the candidate's own list. Multi-jurisdiction corporate registry and litigation searches across three countries linked to the candidate's stated career history.
Direct contact with the awarding university confirmed the candidate's postgraduate qualification had been conferred but subsequently revoked following an academic integrity investigation. Two of the four independently sourced references contradicted the candidate's claimed seniority at a prior employer, describing a mid-level analyst role rather than a portfolio management position. The fund manager terminated the appointment process before the candidate gained access to any systems or client information.
A European industrial conglomerate was preparing to enter the Gulf market through a joint venture with a regional trading group. The transaction involved appointing four directors to a new Dubai entity, onboarding a logistics partner with operations across Turkey and the Caucasus, and securing regulatory approval from both the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). The conglomerate needed a single, unified investigative programme covering all counterparties, personnel, and regulatory risk dimensions before committing capital.
Sentinel Provenance designed a bespoke engagement combining Tier 2 personnel screening on all four proposed directors, Tier 3 deep-dive investigation on the trading group's principal (a Turkish national with a complex multi-jurisdictional corporate history), corporate due diligence on the logistics partner and its beneficial ownership structure, supply-chain verification across two jurisdictions, and a regulatory-landscape assessment for the relevant licensing authorities. All workstreams were managed under a single Terms of Reference with unified reporting and one point of contact.
Personnel screening cleared three of the four directors. The Tier 3 investigation into the trading group's Turkish principal revealed an undisclosed beneficial interest in two entities linked to sanctioned Iranian intermediaries, as well as an active money-laundering investigation in a European jurisdiction that had not appeared on any commercial screening platform. The logistics partner's corporate investigation uncovered a dormant subsidiary with unresolved customs violations. The conglomerate restructured the joint venture to exclude the compromised principal and entered on revised terms, with contractual protections informed directly by Sentinel Provenance's findings. Total engagement delivered in 28 business days with a single consolidated report.