15 March 2011

Kroll Ontrack launches tool to fight corruption and identify unlawful behaviour

New compliance review and internal audit service to help organisations adhere to regulations and perform internal audits to monitor compliance

London, United Kingdom – 15th March, 2011 - Kroll Ontrack, the leading provider of information management, data recovery, and legal technologies products and services, today announced the launch of its Compliance Review and Internal Audit Service to assist organisations with the early detection of wrongdoing, such as corrupt practices and anti-competitive behaviour. Committed to delivering innovative legal technology solutions, Kroll Ontrack facilitates the review of Electronically Stored Information (ESI) by companies and their lawyers in litigation and internal investigations and proactive internal audits to monitor regulatory compliance. The new service, in conjunction with the company’s established Ontrack® Advanceview™ early case assessment technology, will help organisations demonstrate that they have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery as required by the upcoming Bribery Act in the U.K.

The new Kroll Ontrack service and state-of-the art Ontrack Advanceview early case assessment technology allow companies to assess the extent of any potential exposure to legal action and the need for remedial action. A hosted service allows compliance teams to access targeted company data online from anywhere in the world and collaborate without the need to acquire and manage software. Expert consultants can help companies design and implement a bespoke compliance review programme and internal audit process to suit the particulars of each case.

Kroll Ontrack and its electronic disclosure services and online review tools can be used to support internal audits and compliance reviews triggered by various circumstances such as:

• Internal audit into anti-competitive behaviour: Business practices can be examined to ensure compliance with competition laws.
• Post-merger due diligence audit: To ensure a newly acquired entity is in adherence with company ethics and policies.
• Internal audit of business practices following a regulatory investigation: After an investigation by competition authorities, it may be necessary to perform a review or audit of specific business practices in other markets or related product lines.
• Investigation into suspected bribery: Interrogate e-mails and large volumes of documents rapidly to quickly assess whether a problem exists and whether it is necessary to self-report to the authorities.
• Internal audits to check on fraud and theft from the company: Allows the routine proactive check on high risk business practices, transactions or departments to ensure they are not being affected by theft or fraud.

“There has been an increase in regulatory activity worldwide with more aggressive anti-corruption enforcement and cartel investigations on the rise,” said Martin Carey, managing director of legal technologies for Kroll Ontrack U.K. “Given the severe penalties and reputational damage associated with regulatory breaches, a proactive response is needed to combat potential violations.”

The Bribery Act is expected to come into force in the U.K. in 2011, and introduces several offences including a new offence for commercial organisations that fail to prevent bribery. This will apply not only to U.K companies but also foreign commercial organisations that conduct business in the U.K. or the commission of bribery anywhere in the world by these organisations. As such, U.K. authorities will now have broad jurisdictional reach. Other countries in Europe are also enforcing anti-corruption measures.

In the U.S., enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has also stepped up and there has been increased international co-operation to stamp out corruption around the world. It is becoming critical, therefore, for companies to carry out proactive internal audits and compliance checks globally. Kroll Ontrack has recognised this and responded.

The Ontrack Advanceview tool provides companies with early visibility of their email and other Electronically Stored Information. Its early case assessment technology allows large volumes of data to be analysed to assess the risk of wrong-doing early on. The powerful technology of Ontrack Advanceview includes strong searching, review and investigative capabilities including data analytics. Such advanced functionality significantly increases the rate at which documents can be reviewed and helps companies target hot documents and look for lines of enquiry. This puts lawyers and compliance teams in control of their data with the cost benefits and security of a hosted environment. The Ontrack Advanceview tool saves time and money associated with IT administration, hardware configuration, specialised software or license fees incurred with similar enterprise software tools.

The Legal Technologies & Consulting division of Kroll Ontrack provides corporations, law firms and government agencies with technology and consulting services for large scale paper and electronic discovery, computer forensics, and litigation readiness and incident response matters. Through the acquisition of TrialGraphix (September 2007), the leader in jury consulting and trial presentation services and technology, Kroll Ontrack now offers a wide range of trial services such as jury research; witness preparation; trial consulting; graphics; and presentation technology for mediations, arbitrations, and trial. Helping clients quickly and cost-effectively find, review, manage, produce and present relevant evidence, Kroll Ontrack has been recognised as the leading electronic discovery provider by the Am Law Tech Survey for eight consecutive years.

About Kroll Ontrack Inc.
Kroll Ontrack provides technology-driven services and software to help legal, corporate and government entities as well as consumers manage, recover, search, analyse, produce and present data efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition to its award-winning suite of software, Kroll Ontrack provides data recovery, data destruction, paper and electronic discovery, document review, computer forensics, secure information services, ESI and jury consulting, and trial presentation services. Kroll Ontrack is the technology services division of Kroll Inc., the global risk consulting company. Kroll is a subsidiary of Altegrity, an industry-leading provider of information solutions.