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386 An HR Guide to Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour

The witness’s response to your prompting will tell you a great deal about him and his mo-
tivation. Usually people who don’t want to recall, don’t even think about the cues, whereas
genuine people do.

If the witness makes no effort to think about cues, he may have other reasons not to
remember

However, even if you conclude that the witness is being less than honest, do not challenge
him at this stage, but press on.

External stimulation

You should next produce exhibits, schedules and key points and ask for the witness’s com-
ments on them, using open and closed questions. Identify any discrepancies and seek clarifi-
cation, again using memory retrieval clues.

Press for detail.
Note discrepancies and the subject’s reaction

Records retrieval and anything else?

Principles and formal records
It is vital that you obtain copies of relevant documents and any other evidence in a witness’s
possession. For example, in a corruption case, you might want copies of the vendor’s cash
book, cancelled cheques etc. showing payments to a corrupt employee. If the witness refuses
to produce these, you have a number of options based on your powers of persuasion.

Always consider obtaining personal and informal records such as:

• expense statements;
• image copies of the witness’s computer;
• diaries;
• telephone call logs (including mobile telephone records).

ROBIN BLIND logs around that time showed a call from
an internal conference room to a number
In this case, telephone call records which subsequently proved to be Robin
confirmed the date of the meeting on 3 June Blind’s home in the Channel Islands. He was
at 11.34am, when the witness terminated a traced through this and arrested.
call to his mistress (just who can you trust?).
More importantly, analysis of all telephone

Effective investigation is all about detail

In due course, you should analyse all records and make sure nothing has been missed and
that they are consistent with the fraud theory.