Benedict Hamilton

Benedict Hamilton, associate managing director at private security company Kroll, said much of its business comes from clients who believe the police will not achieve the results they need.

"Almost all the work we do is because the police do not have the time or the capabilities to carry out a particular investigation," he said.

Kroll has seen a marked increase in major business clients who have been subject to fraud, information theft, phishing scams and black-market sales of intellectual property.

The firm also deals with cases of reputational damage on blogs, working to have damaging material taken down and finding its source.

"Our clients are varied," said Hamilton. "We have a number of private equity firms, hedge funds and high net worth individuals who want to get online problems sorted out."

Private investigation firms can be very expensive to hire, but they also tend to have excellent international contacts as well as an obvious business incentive to achieve results as quickly as possible.

Compelling people to talk to you when you do not have the authority of the police behind you requires a degree of subtlety, said Hamilton.

"We often have to use softer, more persuasive techniques than the police, but we usually get there in the end," he said.

And after investigations are complete, many police forces are happy to be handed a finished case to make arrests.

The investigation of every case begins with following up online clues - ­ the trail left behind by any action performed on the internet.

"Even when a firm has been careless with tracking data, there are logs of what has moved where," said Hamilton.
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It is still possible to get to them with enough resources," said Hamilton.

So is there anything to which a decent private investigator cannot gain access?

"The FBI, for example, may have faster access to satellites than it takes us to commission a commercial satellite ­ - which we have done in the past," said Hamilton.

Benedict Hamilton, associate managing director at private security company Kroll, said much of its business comes from clients who believe the police will not achieve the results they need.

"Almost all the work we do is because the police do not have the time or the capabilities to carry out a particular investigation," he said.

Kroll has seen a marked increase in major business clients who have been subject to fraud, information theft, phishing scams and black-market sales of intellectual property.

The firm also deals with cases of reputational damage on blogs, working to have damaging material taken down and finding its source.

"Our clients are varied," said Hamilton. "We have a number of private equity firms, hedge funds and high net worth individuals who want to get online problems sorted out."

Private investigation firms can be very expensive to hire, but they also tend to have excellent international contacts as well as an obvious business incentive to achieve results as quickly as possible.

Compelling people to talk to you when you do not have the authority of the police behind you requires a degree of subtlety, said Hamilton.

"We often have to use softer, more persuasive techniques than the police, but we usually get there in the end," he said.

And after investigations are complete, many police forces are happy to be handed a finished case to make arrests.

The investigation of every case begins with following up online clues , ­ the trail left behind by any action performed on the internet.

"Even when a firm has been careless with tracking data, there are logs of what has moved where," said Hamilton.
...
It is still possible to get to them with enough resources," said Hamilton.

So is there anything to which a decent private investigator cannot gain access?

"The FBI, for example, may have faster access to satellites than it takes us to commission a commercial satellite ­ , which we have done in the past," said Hamilton.

A former TV colleague of Terrington's suggested I should contact a close friend of his called Ben Hamilton.
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Hamilton suggested I should consult their website at www.cleanupfootball.co.uk
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Nor had Ben Hamilton been totally frank.I soon discovered that out that he, too, had been in the AGM team, but also the crucial fact that Hamilton often works for the corporate investigators Kroll.
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When I confronted Hamilton he admitted sometimes working for Kroll but denied his presence and that of his friends had anything to do with the company.