Kunal Gupta
Senior Partner – Forensic Investigation, Data Analytics & Risk Consulting
Lawyer · Company Secretary · Certified Fraud Examiner · 12+ years
Corporate Intelligence
Market Intelligence
Discreet market, vendor and competitor enquiry through pretext outreach, discreet calls and on-ground checks. Understanding the market as it really is: priced, positioned and behaving.
What it answers
- Are we being fairly priced by our vendors?
- Is this partner what they claim to be?
- What is the real market rate, capacity and reputation?
- Is there collusion, bid-rigging or a cartel at play?
- Who are the credible alternatives we are not seeing?
Fraud, mispricing and hidden risk rarely show up in the numbers first. They show up in behaviour, relationships and reputation, visible only to someone who knows how to look. Market Intelligence answers the questions your databases, auditors and teams cannot: what the market really charges, who your counterparties really are, and whether the pricing you accept is the product of competition or of collusion.
How we do it
Our method
- 1
Pretext outreach
Approaching the market as a genuine prospective customer to obtain real quotations and terms.
- 2
Discreet telephone enquiry
Structured conversations with vendors, ex-employees and industry sources.
- 3
On-ground enquiries
Trained field investigators verifying premises, operations and reputation in person.
- 4
Competitive benchmarking
Triangulating formal quotes against informal market chatter.
Deliverables
- Benchmarked pricing report
- Reputation profile
- Red-flag summary
- Negotiation evidence
The golden rule
Nothing is reported until it has been independently corroborated. A single source is a lead, never a finding. Every finding is triangulated across independent sources and documented to withstand legal and regulatory scrutiny. That is what makes our intelligence usable in a boardroom, a negotiation or a courtroom.
How we engage
Discreet by design. Pretext identities and strict need-to-know handling ensure the subject never learns an enquiry is underway.
Lawful and ethical. We rely on open sources, lawful enquiry and legitimate field methods. No illegal access, ever.
Confidential handling. Strict data-privacy adherence (DPDP / GDPR), secure processing and anonymised, controlled reporting.
Flexible deliverables. Verbal briefings, red-flag alerts or full evidentiary dossiers, scoped to your objective and timeline.
- 01
Confidential briefing
You tell us the question and the sensitivities.
- 02
Fixed-scope proposal
A defined objective, method and timeline.
- 03
Discreet execution
Field, telephone and open-source enquiry by trained investigators.
- 04
Defensible report
Findings, red flags and recommended next steps, independently corroborated.
Case studies
How it plays out in practice.
Illustrative composites. Names, figures and timelines are indicative; no client is identifiable.
- NRD-CS-01Surface Logistics
Market Intelligence
The Freight Bill That Didn’t Add Up
A logistics-reliant business suspected it had overpaid on freight for years; a discreet market survey showed by how much and gave it the evidence to renegotiate.
60–200%Premium over marketRead - NRD-CS-02Construction & Infrastructure
Field Intelligence & Fraud Investigation
The Contractor Who Priced Too Perfectly
A construction business could not explain why one contractor always won, or why approvals cleared so easily; a pretext benchmark and field enquiries showed why.
InflatedBid vs. true market rateRead
Also in Investigations
- Internal InvestigationsCounsel-led fact-finding with forensic execution. Findings that hold up before boards, audit committees, auditors and regulators.
- Crisis Management & Regulatory ResponseA written crisis protocol, role-specific preparation and a rehearsed first-72-hours response, so every function knows what is expected of it when a regulator arrives unannounced or an enforcement action begins.
- Digital Forensics & E-Discovery ReviewsDefensible preservation, recovery and review of digital evidence across devices, mailboxes, chat and logs, turned into an evidence trail that stands up before regulators and courts.
- OSINT & Desktop ProfilingDeep open-source research and digital-footprint analysis to profile entities and individuals remotely and at scale. A complete picture, built entirely from open, lawful sources.
- Asset TracingLocating and mapping hidden, undisclosed or dissipated assets across property, banking and corporate structures, and building the trail to recover them.
- Skip TracingLocating absconding individuals, from debtors and guarantors to fraudsters, and confirming their whereabouts on the ground.
How an engagement starts
Tell us what you can’t see.
Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation. No matter is too early, or too sensitive, to raise. A partner replies within one working day.
- 01
A 30-minute call
To align on the question, the team and the sites involved.
- 02
A fixed-scope proposal
A tailored scope and fee note within five working days.
- 03
Discreet execution
Small senior teams, conflict-checked, DPDP and GDPR compliant handling.