The temptation to gain an illegal advantage on business competitors has never been higher, and companies now routinely employ private detectives to find out just what their competitors are up to. Max Flint lifts the lid on a murky world of phone taps, secret filming and deception – all in search of a profit – in the first of a new series of The Money Programme.
Last year, the Formula One team McLaren was fined £50m after it received details of a rival car’s design. The Money Programme has discovered that, far from the glamour of Formula One, many businesses are relying on dirty tricks to give them that extra advantage.
A multi-billion pound industry in corporate intelligence has grown up over the last few years, and, at its edges, are private investigators who obtain, and sell, confidential business information. And now, increasingly more businesses are turning to them in the search for that critical business advantage.
The Money Programme meets the conservatory entrepreneur whose rivals employed a private detective to secretly record a meeting with him and stake out his office.
Then there was the rubbish-tip magnate who employed private detectives who bugged the phones and emails of local government officials and environmental protesters campaigning to close down one of his rubbish tips. He pleaded guilty to an espionage conspiracy and was sentenced to six months in prison.
In perhaps its most alarming discovery, the programme shows it’s not just business to business where spies are used. The personal financial details of individuals have also been illegally sought out and traded. Max discovers just how easy it is for the unscrupulous to con banks and other financial institutions into giving away sensitive financial details about their customers.
Friday 1 February
7.00-7.30pm BBC TWO
Post a Comment