At the client’s request, our team conducted detailed analytical and field activities aimed at determining the current financial status of the person against whom court proceedings were being conducted. The information provided by the client indicated that this person may have been taking steps to dispose of their assets. The client also had evidence pointing to the sale of a house and the planned sale of other properties belonging to this person.
Preliminary analysis and determination of real estate
At the initial stage, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the properties associated with the person under investigation. As part of these activities:
- we determined the land and mortgage register numbers assigned to this person,
- analysed the history of ownership, mortgage encumbrances and easements, and thus verified which properties had been sold and which were still owned by the person under investigation.
As a result of the analysis, we confirmed that the person under investigation had recently sold a single-family house, which had been their place of residence until then. This transaction took place relatively recently and could have been part of a process of transferring or concealing assets.
Identification of purchasers and analysis of connections
The next stage of the investigation was to establish the identity of the buyers of the sold property and determine whether there were any links between them and the person under investigation. OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) techniques were used as part of the investigation, enabling a detailed analysis of the data of the persons involved in the transaction.
The methods used made it possible to obtain and verify information concerning personal data, professional history, business activities, and social and business connections of both the person under investigation and the buyers of the property. The analysis was a comprehensive background check, including, among other things, an analysis of data from public registers, social media activity, industry forums and other publicly available sources of information.
As a result of the activities carried out, it was established that the buyers of the property were a family with two children. The man turned out to be professionally and medially active. His details and image appeared in company materials and industry publications, which greatly facilitated the identification process.
At a later stage, attention was drawn to potential previous contacts between the parties to the transaction. An analysis of archived photos and social media interactions showed that the person under investigation had previously liked and commented on one of the property buyer’s photos on Facebook. Despite not following each other’s profiles, this interaction could indicate previous contact or interest in the other party’s activities.
Further OSINT analysis revealed additional connections resulting from online activity. Both the subject and the buyers reacted to the same posts published on the profile of a local gym and youth sports club. The convergence of these activities may indicate that the parties belong to the same local community or had prior contact before the transaction.
Location analysis and verification of actual place of residence
It was established that the buyers of the property had previously lived in the same town, one street away from the sold property. This fact, combined with the limited number of residents (approx. 1,000 people), may further suggest that the parties knew each other beforehand.
In order to confirm whether the person under investigation had actually left the sold property, field observations were carried out. The photographic and descriptive materials obtained clearly indicate that the person under investigation continues to reside on the sold property. This information was documented in a separate field report.
Summary and conclusions
The collected data allowed not only for the accurate identification of the buyers, but also for the assessment of their financial situation, professional activity and potential relations with the person being checked. The results of the analysis confirm earlier assumptions regarding the possible acquaintance of the parties prior to the real estate sale transaction.
The findings indicate that:
- the person under investigation has sold the property that was their previous place of residence,
- purchasers may be persons connected with the person being checked,
- despite the sale, the person being investigated still actually resides in the sold property.
The information gathered constitutes important evidence for assessing the actual financial situation of the person being investigated and any actions they may have taken to conceal their assets.
Author: Nikola Trzcińska
