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CORPORATE FRAUD · A GUIDE FOR UK LAWYERS Digital Forensics in Corporate Fraud Investigations Following the Money, the Documents and the Deception Through the Estate COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB

§ ABOUT THE AUTHOR PREPARED BY COMPUTER FORENSICS LAB E-DISCOVERY TEAM FINANCIAL-SYSTEMS FORENSICS CPR PART 35 EXPERT REPORT S FULL CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY DOCUMENTATION

§ CONTENTS In this guide 01 Executive summary 02 The problem in plain English: fraud is documented by its own machinery 03 The fraud-pattern evidence map: schemes and their artefacts 04 The covert phase: preserving without alerting 05 Financial-systems forensics: ERP, accounting data and the communications join 06 Document authenticity: fabrication, backdating and alteration exposed 07 Deployment: civil, criminal, regulatory and the sequencing problem 08 Source architecture: where else the evidence lives 09 Worked examples 10 Common mistakes and technical limitations 11 Questions to ask · Suggested wording 12 Checklist and red flags · When to involve a digital forensic expert 13 Frequently asked questions 14 Glossary · References · Disclaimer · How a specialist laboratory can assist

§ 01 · ORIENTATION Executive summary THE HEADLINE POINT: FRAUDINVESTIGATIONSSUCCEEDBYJOININGTHREERECORDS THEFRAUDSTERKEPTSEPARATE: THEMONEY ' STRAILINTHESYSTEMS, THE DOCUMENTS ' TRUEHISTORYINTHEIRMETADATA, ANDTHECOMMUNICATIONSAROUND BOTH: PRESERVEDCOVERTLY, JOINEDFORENSICALLY, DEPLOYEDINTHERIGHTORDER

§ 02 · FIRST PRINCIPLES The problem in plain English: fraud is documented by its own machinery

§ 03 · THEMAP The fraud-pattern evidence map: schemes and their artefacts