Our special one-day event, kindly hosted by A&O Shearman, brings together leading experts in whistleblowing, corporate investigations, regulatory compliance, and legal frameworks to explore best practices, challenges, and emerging trends in handling whistleblowing disclosures. The programme offers a comprehensive exploration of whistleblowing investigations, looking at regulatory perspectives and global investigation management to real whistleblower experiences. It features sessions covering cyber-whistelblowing, sexual harassment investigations and a debate around whistleblower rewards. The event offers invaluable insights for investigators, legal and compliance professionals seeking to enhance their whistleblowing programmes and investigation capabilities in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.
Following the formal programme, attendees will have valuable networking opportunities from 16:30 to 18:30, allowing for continued discussion of the day’s insights and the formation of professional connections. This networking session provides an ideal setting for participants to share experiences, discuss common challenges, and explore potential collaborations.
We are delighted to announce that we have won the International Compliance Association’s 2025 Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Award. The presentation took place at the ICA Awards Dinner in London on 27th June. We would like to acknowledge our fellow shortlist finalists, Calathea Solutions, Clue software and the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, ECPA and Tenet.
Our CEO, Steve Young, said ‘This award is recognition of a multi-stakeholder collaboration with over 50 corporate investigations practitioners to author and produce the ACi Corporate Investigators Handbook (1st Edition) in association with our publisher, Global Investigations Review. I would like to acknowledge our editor, Barry Ellis, and Ashu Sharma our global head of projects and advisory for putting forward the ACi submission against such prestigious competition. I add my congratulations to the shortlisted finalists. The ACi continues to serve the global corporate investigations community, and this award is further recognition of that mission. My final word goes to the amazing ACi Executive Committee and staff whose passion for the association knows no bounds’.
Are you ever asked to support, lead, direct manage or investigate matters in the HR and Employee Relations space where misconduct is the key concern or allegation?
If so, then this interactive training session is perfect for you! Learn about the fundamentals of conducting misconduct investigations at any level of the organisation, provided by professionals with detailed knowledge of the key techniques required for dealing with matters of Bullying, Harassment, Victimisation, Intimidation and Retaliation. Through two detailed and focused 90-minute sessions, participants will gain essential understanding and basic practical skills to begin approaching sensitive misconduct investigations thoroughly and effectively.
Workshop Structure
Session 1: Foundations & Theory (90 minutes)
September 23 – 10.00-11.30 (UK time)
Explore the fundamental principles of workplace investigations, including legal frameworks, evidence gathering protocols, and maintaining objectivity throughout the investigative process. Learn to navigate complex organisational dynamics while ensuring fair and thorough fact-finding.
Session 2: Applied Practice – Cognitive Interviewing (90 minutes)
September 30 – 10:00 – 11.30 (UK time)
Learn the relevant cognitive interviewing techniques, using trauma-informed approaches for sensitive workplace situations. Practice foundational skills that support effective information gathering while prioritising participant wellbeing and psychological safety.
Who Should Attend
Investigators from the Corporate, Charitable and NGO sectors
HR and ER Professionals and People Operations Leaders
Simon Scales, Chief Education & Training Officer, ACi.
Simon’s extensive international experience in corporate investigations includes significant Employee Misconduct, Fraud, Bribery, Corruption, Antitrust & Competition, AML, Sanctions, Market Abuse and commensurate preventative/remedial measures. His 30 years of expertise in major investigation management, covert and overt intelligence gathering, relationship and stakeholder management, Ethics / Compliance / Integrity related investigations and reviews demonstrate his proven ability to facilitate consensus through negotiation and collaborate with senior management across all geographies.
Tuesday 24th June; 14:00 – 17:00 UK time, online Teams
This workshop introduces participants to:
Responding to whistleblower reports Triaging, Assessment, Planning & Scoping Investigation Principles Relevant best practice and ISO frameworks Introduction to gathering and assessing evidence Cognitive Interviewing Models Case Study
Workshop 2: Interviewing & Documentation
Tuesday 1st July 2025, 14:00 – 17:00 UK time
Covering key topics including:
Case Study review and planning Communicating with (and managing) stakeholder expectations Fundamentals of investigative interviewing Memory, Recall and Non-Verbal Communication Report writing essentials Understanding thematic learning, process improvements and case closure
Workshop Learning Goals: These sessions aim to help participants:
Understand the core components of workplace investigations Recognise typical challenges in the investigation process Learn about a structured six-step investigation approach Explore methods for gathering and assessing information Develop foundational investigation planning skills Gain an introduction to investigative interviewing principles
In today’s digital age, conducting thorough and effective internal investigations requires not only traditional investigative techniques but also the strategic use of eDiscovery software. This webinar will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the key principles and best practices for conducting internal investigations, with a special focus on leveraging eDiscovery tools.
The importance of internal investigations and their role in risk management
Steps to plan and initiate an investigation
Techniques for data mapping in identifying and harvesting relevant data
Best practices for using eDiscovery tools to manage and analyze large volumes of data
The evolving nature of what can be accessed from mobile devices
Ensuring confidentiality and legal compliance
Reporting results and implementing corrective actions
Join us to enhance your skills and knowledge, and ensure your organization is prepared to handle internal investigations with confidence and professionalism, utilizing the latest eDiscovery technology.
Simon Kinzel, Director, Forensic Services EMEA, KLDiscovery
Simon Kinzel is the Director Forensic Services EMEA, at KLDiscovery and leads the team of 14 forensic consultants located in 3 countries within the EMEA region. Aside from the dynamic and complex nature of coordinating data collection and onsite data filtering requirements throughout EMEA on a day-to-day basis, Simon’s role is to conduct and provide expert guidance in investigations ranging from high profile criminal prosecutions, to the complete range of disciplinary and civil litigation cases. Simon has extensive experience with a broad spectrum of criminal and data breach investigations, computer security compliance and auditing. With a military counter-intelligence background
specialising in information systems, document security, he is trained and certified in digital forensic examination techniques by various government, local and international law enforcement agencies.
Peter Tutton, Associate Managing Director, Nardello & Co LLC
Peter is a financial investigator and forensic accountant with expertise in fraud, financial crime, and regulatory review projects. Prior to joining Nardello & Co., Peter led complex international, high-profile, and politically sensitive banking fraud and money-laundering investigations. Having trained as an accountant with a Big Four accountancy firm, Peter has over 20 years’ experience within the consulting industry. His casework includes engagements working on global investigations, forensic audits and regulatory look-back reviews in UK & Ireland, EU, USA, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. His work is often used in litigation and arbitration proceedings, as well as regulatory enforcement actions and internal disciplinary procedures. His experience extends to providing anti-fraud and financial crime control and framework testing, remediation and compliance services for clients.
Anthony Merlino, Senior Consultant, Global Advisory Services & Strategic Client Solutions, KLDiscovery
Anthony Merlino has more than 29 years of accumulated legal, eDiscovery and computer forensics experience. As KLDiscovery’s Senior Consultant of Global Advisory Services & Strategic Client Solutions, Mr. Merlino is a member of KLD’s Advisory Services team and works consultatively with clients to develop and implement cost effective, efficient, defensible discovery, data governance and data privacy compliance strategies. Leveraging his experience in legal operations,
computer forensics and electronic discovery with his knowledge of current legal trends and technology associated with data management, Mr. Merlino designs defensible strategies and technology solutions to optimize client efficiencies in alignment with industry accepted practices
Vanessa McGoldrick is a counsel in the White Collar Defense and Investigations team at Skadden London. Vanessa advises clients on a broad range of cross-border regulatory, criminal and civil investigations and financial crime matters, including bribery and corruption, money laundering, financial sanctions, fraud and tax evasion. Vanessa has represented clients before a range of U.K. prosecutors and regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, Serious Fraud Office, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Competition and Markets Authority, as well as advised clients facing parallel investigations and proceedings by other international regulators. She has conducted numerous internal investigations involving allegations of corporate misconduct and has completed a secondment to a major international bank’s financial crime (legal) team.
Ben Fielding, Director, Business Development, KLDiscovery
Ben specialises in driving growth and forging strategic partnerships within the legal technology sector. With 18 years of experience in business development and a deep understanding of eDiscovery, Ben combines industry expertise with a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions to meet client needs. Ben advises clients on the management of data and the use of technology in cyber incident response, litigation, arbitration, internal or regulatory investigations, data subject access requests and contract lifecycle management fostering long-term relationships with law firms, corporate legal teams, insurers and government agencies.
Great investigations start with great questions. When working with AI, how you phrase your prompts can mean the difference between a breakthrough insight and a missed opportunity. But how do you craft an effective prompt? How can you be sure AI understands exactly what you need?
With Relativity aiR for Review, the process is seamless. This generative AI solution helps refine your prompt criteria, making it easier than ever to get precise, relevant results.
In this webinar, we’ll demonstrate how prompting in aiR for Review works and give you tips and tricks for engineering the perfect prompt for your next investigation.
You’ll learn:
How to structure clear and precise investigation-specific queries
Techniques for breaking down complex investigative tasks
Our first event for investigators based in The Netherlands and the surrounding region. The afternoon features an exciting agenda with plenty of networking time.
Hosted by Baker McKenzie the ACi Pharma Investigations Forum will explore key trends and learning points for at investigations in the pharma and life sciences industries. We will discuss insider threats & protecting IP and data, the risk landscape, sanctions investigations and trends in pharma investigations.
The evolving landscape of corporate crime and misconduct in India has led to significant regulatory and legal changes and collaborative efforts among stakeholders. In our event we look at the key considerations for investigators, so that we can mitigate current challenges and proactively address future risk trends, ensuring the stability and integrity of Indian businesses in the years to come.
Join our free webinar to discuss all things OSINT! Sponsored by Tadaweb, we will be looking at the evolving landscape of OSINT in corporate investigations, how OSINT platforms can distil large data sets into actionable intelligence, and the role of automation and AI in OSINT. We will also discuss the legal boundaries in OSINT and the importance of using compliant platforms.
Steve is the CEO of ACi. He served 20 years in UK law enforcement investigating economic crime specialising in the pro-active investigation of Banking Fraud, Bribery & Corruption, Whistleblowing and Money Laundering. This was followed by 6 years at Citigroup Inc. as EMEA Regional Director of Investigations, and 8 years as Barclays Bank Plc, Global Head of Investigations for Investment Banking & Wealth Management. Currently Head of Fraud & Investigations in Group Compliance at Lombard Odier, based in Geneva. To date, 40 years of international economic crime experience in both a law enforcement and corporate environment.
Jill Sanborn, Tadaweb
Jill Sanborn is a geopolitical risk, investigations and intelligence leader who brings decades of experience in both the public & private sector, helping businesses navigate today’s global risk environment.
Jill served nearly 24 years in the FBI rising to become the Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch representing the FBI on all national security matters. In previous roles Jill served as the Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division where she oversaw thousands of terrorism investigations and also held a senior leadership role as a deputy director with the CIA.
As a career-long advocate of the importance of partnerships, Jill routinely collaborates with peers across the law enforcement and intelligence communities, academia, and the private sector to create a network of community engagement.
Euan Crawford, Tadaweb
Euan Crawford is the Director of Intelligence Innovation at Tadaweb, where he is recognised as a leading authority in extracting actionable insights from publicly available information (PAI). Euan has spearheaded initiatives that advance multi-source data fusion while upholding the highest legal and ethical standards.
Prior to joining Tadaweb, Euan led open-source intelligence efforts across both public and private sectors, with a particular emphasis on integrating disruptive technologies.
Beyond his role at Tadaweb, Euan is a British Army Reserve officer, with service experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the co-founder of TechVets, a non-profit organisation committed to bridging the gap between military veterans and the tech industry, fostering a new generation of technologically adept leaders.
Rory Horgan
Rory served for 14 years in the British Army, including tours in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the MOD and working across government. He left the Army in 2022 for M& C Saatchi, running major programmes for their Security & Defence Services Branch.
Workshop 1: Investigation Fundamentals
This workshop introduces participants to:
Workshop 2: Interviewing & Documentation
Covering key topics including:
Workshop Learning Goals: These sessions aim to help participants: