Custody: Bribery of the Caregiver? | Case of Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg – Part 1

Change of Caregiver Leads to Change in Custody

Since Ms. Berger (all names changed) had gotten onto the wrong path as an adolescent and slipped into drug addiction, which caused psychological damage, she had since been under the supervision of various caregivers by court order. When she contacted the Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg some time ago, she was already in her late 20s; however, she simply could not get rid of the supervision after two relapses in her early 20s, even though she had had no contact with drugs for over six years and, according to her own statement, felt "relatively healthy" psychologically.

 

The reason Ms. Berger sought out our private detectives in Hamburg was that for several months, more precisely since she had been assigned a new caregiver, she had been confronted with major difficulties in seeing her daughter. The father of this daughter was a wealthy entrepreneur, from whom Ms. Berger had separated years earlier due to his numerous affairs. Until then, custody had primarily been with Ms. Berger, which had always been a thorn in her ex-partner’s side. He repeatedly made efforts to have the custody arrangement changed in his favor. These attempts had always fallen on deaf ears – until the most recent change of caregiver. From that point on, devastating assessments of Ms. Berger’s handling of her daughter were regularly submitted to the court, and consequently the child’s father was granted full custody, while Ms. Berger was only given very limited visitation rights. Since the mother suspected a kind of conspiracy against her, she turned in confidence to the Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg.

Review of the Client Before Accepting the Assignment

To be honest, we must admit that we have often had negative experiences with prospective clients and clients who demonstrably suffered from psychological problems and expressed suspicions such as "conspiracy," "stalking," or "bugs in my apartment." In two out of three such cases in which our detectives in Hamburg accept the assignment and actually investigate, it becomes clear directly or indirectly that the cause of the psychologically ill client’s fears lies within themselves and is not caused by other persons.

 

For example, there was a situation in which the Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg had fully and continuously video-monitored a room in the home of one such client for a defined period of time. Although no one other than the client himself could be seen on the continuous video footage, he later refused under any circumstances to be convinced that no one but him had entered the room. The result was an absurd dispute between the Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg as the contractor and the client, in which all arguments were on our side, yet in the end we were left with nothing but trouble.

 

Due to this experience, our investigators become very alert when potential clients speak of psychological illnesses. Before accepting such an assignment, we therefore research the background of the interested party and verify the accuracy of the statements made to us. In the case of Ms. Berger, there were no irregularities in the form of contradictions, seemingly fabricated descriptions, or false information, which is why our detectives from Hamburg accepted the assignment.

Suspicion of a Crime: Bribery of the Caregiver

At a second meeting with the client of Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg, Ms. Berger described the situation in more detail and repeatedly stated that she no longer knew what to do and felt unfairly treated. The caregiver’s reports were "completely fabricated." When our private detectives in Hamburg asked for what reason or motive the caregiver would lie, the client replied: "I do not know for certain – that is why I am hiring you." Point for Ms. Berger. "My ex-boyfriend is very wealthy," she added with a bitter wink, "who knows whether there are not some under-the-table arrangements between him and the woman ..." The suspicion of a crime was therefore bribery.

How Are Bribe Payments Transferred?

How were our detectives from Hamburg supposed to prove any "kickback" payments? The perpetrators would hardly be foolish enough to do this in the open. There are many ways to transfer bribes inconspicuously. For example, one could use an intermediary. However, this would have the disadvantage that a third person would have to be involved in these illegal activities (keyword: accomplice), and secondly this person might demand compensation for their actions, thus causing additional costs (courier). Another option would be a safe deposit box in which the child’s father deposits money that is later collected by the caregiver. In this way, there would also be no direct contact between the two, but through surveillance of both persons the direct connection could be proven. However, the detective costs for this threatened to escalate, as the times of depositing and collecting the money could hardly be narrowed down.

 

A third of many other possibilities, which the Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg does not wish and cannot list in full here (after all, there are no limits to the imagination of criminals), would be a meeting between the payer and the recipient in a discreet location where a transfer cannot be observed by third parties. The least discreet option would be the residential address of one of the persons involved. On the other hand, for example, a room in a large hotel could already provide the necessary cover, as it would be nearly impossible for observers to discreetly follow both persons through a hotel corridor to a specific room and document this at the same time. The risk of detection would be far too high for the surveillance operatives.

Operational Planning of Aaden Detective Agency Hamburg

With these considerations in mind, which went much further than we wish to describe here in a reasonably concise manner, our private detectives from Hamburg discussed the procedure in the present case. We agreed with Ms. Berger that the child’s father should initially be placed under surveillance. On the one hand, this would (hopefully) allow observation of any money transfers to the caregiver, and on the other hand, it was conceivable that observing the father’s interaction with the child could yield interesting findings for further negotiations regarding custody arrangements.

Part 2 of this Case Description

In Part 2 you will learn how this case concluded. Please click here.

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Hamburg

Contor Center Hamburg

Katharinenstraße 30a

D-20457 Hamburg 

Tel.: +49 40 4223 6960

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-hamburg.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-hamburg.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824