About TGI

Design of cross-border matters, single management of matters that span several countries, and reporting in English. From judging feasibility to selecting the team, designing the enquiry, quality control, reporting and delivery, the work is managed in one place. You do not need to manage several overseas agencies yourself. The agreement, the invoices and the report are all in TGI's name.

Notified to the Saitama Prefectural Public Safety Commission under Japan's Private Detective Business Act (No. 43210012), with 25 years of fieldwork. Work in Japan is carried out by its own investigators. In Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, long-standing local teams work under its direction. For a firm abroad handling a matter that touches Japan, this is where TGI is of most use.

Based in Taipei, UIC Associates covers Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia, and is the core of the network for the Chinese-speaking world and the Straits. North America, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Oceania are covered through long-standing local partners.

The client had been unable to reach a relative living in Taiwan for many years, and needed to know whether the relative was alive and to obtain the official certificates required for the estate. The police could not release information directly because of data protection law, so the enquiry went instead through the head of the neighbourhood and the management of the building. On site it was found that the building at the registered address had been demolished shortly before the enquiry began. It was established that the relative had died in hospital some years earlier, that the spouse had also died, and that the court had appointed an administrator of the estate; the death certificate and the household registration record of the death were obtained from the administrator. About two weeks from start to certificates.

The whereabouts of a subject living in Malaysia had to be established, together with any real property held. The subject used several names, so identity had to be confirmed as well. A title search was made at the land office, the registered address was visited and public information was checked. Confirmed: the current address and contact details; the type of title, lot number and area; how the property was acquired (the previous owner, the date and the price); and the charge registered by a bank. The visit showed that the registered address was not where the subject actually lived, and the actual residence was identified. About two weeks.

Before a transaction, the client needed to understand the background of the individual who in practice controlled a listed company. Career, the companies represented, and the record of litigation and enforcement were examined from public sources, and the addresses of related companies were confirmed on site. Court judgments and the public notices of auctions in enforcement proceedings were obtained as source documents, so that the findings could be put before the client's board as they stood. About three weeks.