Services

Research and reporting built around your question.

Seven services, each delivered to the same standard: sourced, verified, documented and confidential. Most engagements combine more than one, and our regional practice applies all of them to Russia and the wider Eurasian region.

Investigative Research

In-depth research into people, organisations, events and issues.

Long-form inquiry into a person, an organisation, an event or an issue. We work from records, documents, interviews and open sources, and follow the evidence until the question is answered or the limits of what can be established are clear.

What you receive

A written report setting out findings, sources and the confidence attached to each conclusion
A chronology and a map of the people and entities involved, where relevant
A briefing with the lead researcher to discuss findings and open questions
An annex of supporting documents, where their source and the law allow

Typical use cases

Establishing the facts behind an allegation or a dispute
Understanding who controls an organisation, and how
Reconstructing a sequence of events from incomplete records
Researching an issue before a campaign, a policy decision or a publication

Discuss Investigative Research

II.

Commissioned Reports

Detailed, evidence-based reports that answer your specific question.

A report written to answer the question you bring to us. We agree the question, the scope and the standard of evidence at the outset, then deliver a document that can be read, relied on and, where needed, shared with others.

What you receive

Agreed terms of reference before work begins
A structured report with an executive summary, findings and full sourcing
A clear statement of method, limitations and anything that could not be verified
A version suitable for wider circulation, if required

Typical use cases

Informing a board, trustees or an investment committee
Supporting a policy paper, an inquiry submission or a public report
Independent research to test an internal assumption
Evidence for an editorial or programming decision

Discuss Commissioned Reports

III.

Background & Due Diligence

Verified profiles of companies, individuals and the relationships between them.

Verified profiles of companies, individuals and the relationships between them, prepared before you commit to a transaction, an appointment or a partnership. We separate what is documented from what is reported, and say which is which.

What you receive

A profile covering ownership, history, litigation, regulatory and reputational record
Identification of connected parties and potential conflicts of interest
A summary of risk factors, graded by the strength of the evidence
Recommendations for any further enquiries

Typical use cases

Pre-transaction and pre-investment checks
Senior appointments and board nominations
Vetting partners, suppliers, grantees and intermediaries
Understanding a counterparty in a dispute or negotiation

Discuss Background & Due Diligence

IV.

Media Research Support

Background research, fact-checking and source verification for newsrooms and journalists.

Research capacity for newsrooms, documentary teams and individual journalists. We provide background research, fact-checking and source verification, working to your editorial standards and deadlines. Editorial decisions remain yours.

What you receive

Background files on people, organisations and subjects
Line-by-line fact-checking, with a source for every checked claim
Verification of documents, images, and the identity and standing of sources
Research memos written for editors and legal reviewers

Typical use cases

Pre-publication checking of an investigation
Research support for a long-form article, book or documentary
Assessing a leaked document before reporting on it
Rapid background on a developing story

Discuss Media Research Support

Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)

Analysis of public records, documents, databases and online sources.

Systematic collection and analysis of information that is publicly available: company and court records, land and asset registries, regulatory filings, archives, media and online sources. Every item is captured, dated and preserved so that findings can be checked.

What you receive

Findings drawn from public records across the relevant jurisdictions
Preserved copies of online material, with capture dates and sources
Analysis that connects individual records into a coherent picture
A source log suitable for review by counsel or editors

Typical use cases

Tracing corporate structures and assets through public filings
Establishing an online footprint or history
Verifying claims made in public statements and documents
Following an issue, a market or an organisation over time

Discuss Open-Source Intelligence

VI.

Briefings & Analysis

Clear summaries of complex issues for decision-makers.

Clear, concise summaries of complex issues for people who need to make a decision. We distil research into what is known, what is uncertain and what it means for you, in writing or in person.

What you receive

Written briefings at the length you need, from two pages to a full paper
In-person or remote briefings for leadership teams and boards
A clear separation of fact, assessment and open questions
Updates as a situation develops, where agreed

Typical use cases

Preparing leadership for a meeting, negotiation or market entry
Understanding the background to a dispute or controversy
Board-level briefings on emerging risks
Context for editors and programme makers

Discuss Briefings & Analysis

VII.

Regional Investigative Reports

Long-form investigative reports on Russia and the wider Eurasian region.

In-depth investigative reports on companies, people, sectors and events in Russia, Central Asia, the South Caucasus and the wider Eurasian region, researched in the original languages to the standards of investigative journalism. Reports can be written for a media organisation to publish under its own name, or for an institution, investor or law firm that needs a full and reliable account.

What you receive

A long-form report written to publication standard, with every factual claim sourced
A source annex and claim-by-claim verification log for editors and lawyers
Research in Russian and the national languages, with original-language documents preserved
A briefing for editors, counsel or decision-makers on findings and open questions

Typical use cases

A media investigation into a cross-border business network
An NGO or institutional report on governance in a sector or region
An investor's in-depth account of a regional group before a major decision
Background research for a documentary or a long-form series

Discuss Regional Investigative Reports

Engagement formats

Structured around the question, not the hours.

Every engagement is scoped individually. Most take one of three forms, agreed in writing before work begins.

Format one

Defined engagement

A single question with an agreed scope, method, deliverable and timetable. The most common format for due diligence, commissioned reports and investigations.

Format two

Preliminary assessment

A short first phase that establishes what can be found, from which sources and at what cost, before a client commits to full research.

Format three

Ongoing research support

Research capacity over an agreed period, for newsrooms, legal teams or institutions with a continuing need, under the same confidentiality and evidence standards.

In every engagement

What every client can expect.

Whatever the service, the terms of the work are agreed in writing before it begins, and the same standards apply from first conversation to final report.

Agreed scope

The question, the sources, the standard of evidence and the format of the deliverable are set out in writing at the start.

Stated confidence

Each conclusion is graded, so you know what is established, what is probable and what remains open.

Complete discretion

Your identity, your question and our findings are held in confidence, during the engagement and after it.

Enquiries

Discuss what you need to know.

Tell us what you need to know. A first conversation is confidential and without obligation.

Request a consultation How we work