Freeh Group Europe is a global

crisis management Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization or its stakeholders. The study of crisis management originated with large-scale industrial and envi ...

and

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

consulting firm headquartered in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland. The firm advises clients in the areas of corporate compliance, investigations,

due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. Due diligence ...

, and

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

. Former

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Director Louis Freeh has been the firm’s Honorary Chairman since its establishment in 2009.

Overview

Freeh Group Europe is an independent consultancy whose clients include corporations in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, sporting, technology, and logistics sectors. Freeh Group Europe is affiliated with the U.S.-based firm Freeh Group International Solutions LLC and the law firm Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP, whose founding partners include

Stanley Sporkin Stanley Sporkin (February 7, 1932March 23, 2020) was an American lawyer who served as the director of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), general counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency and United States federal judge ...

, former General Counsel of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

, and Eugene Sullivan, former Chief Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other persons ...

. In addition to its Zurich headquarters, the firm maintains offices in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Its consultants include lawyers, accountants, forensic technology specialists, industry experts, and former law enforcement agents.

History

In 2010, Freeh was appointed for a three-year term as an independent compliance monitor in the deferred prosecution agreement between the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

and

Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

. In 2011, Freeh Group Europe was engaged by the

FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...

to investigate allegations of bribery at the global sporting organization. The Freeh Group inquiry uncovered evidence that former FIFA presidential candidate

Mohamed bin Hammam Mohammed bin Hammam (; born 8 May 1949) is a Qatari former football administrator. He was president of the Asian Football Confederation from 2002 to 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011. On 23 July 2011, B ...

offered cash to

Caribbean Football Union The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football (soccer), football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Union was e ...

officials in exchange for their votes in the Federation’s presidential election at the

61st FIFA Congress The 61st FIFA Congress was held between 31 May and 1 June 2011 at the Hallenstadion in Zürich, Switzerland. FIFA is the governing body of world association football, and the congress is the annual meeting of FIFA's supreme legislative body. This ...

. This inquiry led to the resignation of FIFA vice president, Trinidadian Jack Warner, as well as a lifetime ban against participation in the organization for bin Hammam. In the United States, Freeh has been retained to conduct an investigation into allegations of abuse at Pennsylvania State University, and has been appointed as trustee for the

MF Global MF Global Holdings Ltd., formerly known as Man Financial, was a major global financial derivatives broker, or commodities brokerage firm that went bankrupt in 2011. MF Global provided exchange-traded derivatives, such as futures and options ...

bankruptcy case.

Key people

*Louis Freeh, honorary chairman, former director of the FBI *José Hernandez, CEO, former partner at

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...

and faculty member at VU University Amsterdam *John Rahie, senior partner, former general counsel of General Motors Europe and member of GM’s legal team during a 1990s industrial espionage and racketeering dispute with

Volkswagen AG Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony ...

External links

freehgroup.eu
, official website
freehgroup.com
official website of Freeh Group International Solutions LLC
freehsporkinsullivan.com
official website of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP

References

{{reflist Swiss companies established in 2009