New Leadership and Expanded Office Will Help Meet Rising Demand for Risk Management Services

Press Contact:
Samira Mirza
202.719.1700
smirza@diligencellc.com

London – January 3, 2006 – Diligence LLC, the corporate intelligence and risk management consulting firm, announced today that Russ Corn has been named to lead the firm’s office in London. It also said that the firm would soon move to expanded premises in London’s growing financial services center on Canary Wharf.

“This represents an important step for Diligence,” said Diligence’s Executive Chairman, Richard Burt. “Russ Corn brings a wealth of experience to Diligence both in terms of his government service and his work in the private financial sector.” He said that Corn would expand Diligence’s work in six important areas:

• Transaction and Competitive Intelligence
• Due Diligence and Fraud and Background Investigations
• Investment Intelligence
• Transparency and Compliance Support
• Brand and Intellectual Property Protection
• Risk Assessment and Security

In reviewing these services, Russ Corn underscored the rising challenge of regulatory risk confronting companies and financial institutions operating in Britain and Europe more broadly. He noted that the European Union, the OECD’s Financial Action Task Force and the Wolfsberg Group of member banks and institutions had created an increasingly complex web of regulatory requirements, particularly to combat money laundering.

“We are receiving significant increases in requests from major financial institutions to execute comprehensive due diligence. These clients are making serious efforts to thwart money laundering and other forms of fraud—a direct response to the evolving regulatory environment,” said Corn.

As the firm’s capabilities to support the financial services industry ramp up, Diligence is also adding staff to deal with other business challenges confronting its clients: intelligence for hedge fund advisors, organized criminal activity from Eastern Europe, third-party outsourcing and unauthorized sub-contracting in Asia, corporate governance malfeasance, and reconstructing regulatory frameworks to attract foreign direct investment.

Prior to joining Diligence, Corn worked as a senior member of Prudential plc’s Security Group, specializing in political and operational risk. This assignment followed a career in the UK Special Forces during which he served in a variety of regions, including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. He is an MA graduate of Cambridge University and an alumnus of London Business School.

Diligence was founded in 2000 by an international group of former intelligence officers. The firm's mission is to bring to bear the founders' expertise, experience and network of relationships to provide clients with a higher standard of business intelligence and analysis, risk assessment and due diligence support for transactions. In this role, Diligence provides companies with both the information and analysis to enable them to identify, manage, and mitigate risks stemming either from the normal flow of business or from unanticipated contingencies.

Diligence's headquarters are in Washington, DC, and in addition to New York City, the firm also has offices in Miami, London, Berlin, Brussels, and Moscow.