IT Forensics · OSINT

Verifying extracts from the commercial register and shareholder structures using OSINT – forensically tracing corporate interconnections using open-source information

Complex shareholder structures involving multi-tiered shareholdings can often be visualised by systematically collating several extracts from the public commercial register.

Enquire without obligation

This analysis may be useful in identifying beneficial owners, relationships of dependence or covert influence within the context of an ongoing investigation.

Why LanCologne?

Since its foundation, LanCologne has specialised in professional IT forensics. Our staff have decades of experience in the field of information technology and assist companies, solicitors, private individuals and, on a regular basis, the courts in the technical investigation of complex digital matters.

Our OSINT investigations are always carried out as a complementary component to existing IT forensic, legal or internal corporate enquiries. Every step of the investigation and every piece of digital evidence found is documented and, where technically possible, archived to ensure traceability even if the original online content is subsequently altered or deleted.

Our services

We systematically analyse several public commercial register extracts and present multi-tiered shareholder and ownership structures in a manner that is forensically verifiable.

Typical areas of application

Disclosure of multi-tiered shareholding structures
Identification of beneficial owners in existing cases
Support with compliance and anti-money laundering audits
Incorporating corporate structures into white-collar crime proceedings
Judicial and non-judicial expert reports
Collaboration with solicitors and compliance departments

This is how an analysis of shareholder structures is carried out

Starting with a target organisation, related register and shareholding data are collected step by step and consolidated into a graphically comprehensible overall structure using Maltego.

Why is the analysis of shareholder structures relevant in a forensic context?

Nested ownership structures are sometimes deliberately used to obscure financial responsibilities, which makes a structured investigation particularly important.

A visually presented structure makes it easier even for those outside the field to understand complex corporate interrelationships.

Frequently Asked Questions

To what extent can chains of ownership be publicly traced?+
This depends on the availability and transparency of the relevant national registers and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Are registers outside Germany also included?+
Provided it is publicly available and relevant to the research question, yes.
Is it always possible to get to the bottom of things?+
No, in the case of non-transparent or non-publicly accessible foreign structures, there may be technical and legal limitations, which we document transparently.

LanCologne – IT Forensics OSINT Cologne

Do you require a professional OSINT investigation into „verifying extracts from the commercial register and shareholder structures using OSINT"? LanCologne supports you in the transparent, documented analysis of publicly available digital sources to complement your IT forensic, legal or internal corporate enquiries.

Get in touch now