Ex-Spies New Hired Guns of Wall Street

"Investors enlisting former secret agents to sniff
out dodgy companies, dubious executives."

Editor's Note:

This article is brought to your attention to keep you
informed about current risk management efforts.
Similar articles have appeared in the Wall Street
Journal, Business Week, and other publications ---
usually containing the warning, and quotations from,
prestigious risk management firms that some elements
of these investigations shouldn't be done as they
violate U.S. law.


Today, former KGB, CIA, DEA, British, and other
intelligence operatives "are sources of talent for
nervous Wall Streeters".  "This industry" is growing
because of the end of the Cold War.

Sometimes investors will employ these operatives to
investigate a company before they buy its debt or
stock.  "Investors are waking up to the fact that they
made serious mistakes in emerging markets."

"Former Cold War spies are useful not only for their
ability to gather information in emerging markets but
also for the networks they developed when they were
on a government's payroll."

"At least one U.S.-based rating agency employs
private investigators to help with background checks
when it rates a company's securities."

To be sure, investors have plenty to worry about as
this article relates.  Principals in firms seeking funding
have been drug dealers, theives, and scam artists.