Management

Managing Director

Ralph Lake

Ralph Lake

Ralph has a wide variety of investigation and managerial experience gained both nationally and internationally in the governmental and private sectors.

Australia

Special Investigation Branch

He commenced his Investigation career as an Investigator with the Australian Army Special Investigation Branch and upon leaving chose to remain as a Reservist and has progressed through the ranks obtaining a commission in 2001.

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission

Corporate commercial law enforcement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for 10 years where he was a Senior Investigator conducting large anti-trust and consumer civil and criminal investigations.

Department of Immigration & Multicultural Affairs

Ralph was also a Branch Manager with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA).  Whilst with DIMA he also held an appointment as the Agency Complaints Handling Officer as part of the Service Delivery Strategies and Client Services areas dealing with complaints against the department and its officers which emanated throughout the world. Whilst in this role he initiated and managed a major review project relating to complaints handling. The results of the project saw the successful implementation of a centralised agency complaint handling and resolution system with supporting web site and call centre which was compliant with Australian Standard AS 4269-1995. As DIMA went through a major change process associated with the release of both the Palmer and Comrie reports, Ralph was appointed as one of 8 Change Managers within the department's regional office network to assist in both driving and leading the required changes.

International

Namibia

Officer-In-Charge of the Special Investigation Section for the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group.

Rwanda

Investigator with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UN ICTR).  Ralph has presented evidence on two occasions before the UN ICTR in October 2000 and January 2006.

Sierra Leone

Chief of Investigations with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone.

Sudan

Officer-In-Charge of the Special Investigation Unit for the United Nations Mission in Sudan where he managed all investigations for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping throughout the mission area in Sudan and parts of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt.

The Netherlands

Ralph has also been accredited to the list of professional defence investigators with the International Criminal Court based in The Hague.

United Kingdom

He has also recently provided a number of successful international investigative consultancy services to European based senior and junior counsel, through instructing solicitors, in relation to international extradition proceedings where a client was alleged to have committed war crimes. The services provided involved the solus personal conduct of difficult investigations in an African country on two separate occasions.  The matter is still proceeding.

Afghanistan

Appointed as consultant on a number of occasions to the Afghanistan Government to set up an Internal Fraud Investigation Unit for the Afghanistan civil service within the Ministry of Finance to combat fraud and corruption in the civil service.   Additional work in this area involved the Ministries of Education, Justice and Interior.  Work with the Ministry of Interior was conducted with the assistance of the FBI, EUPOL and the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Qualifications

Ralph is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and holds the following qualifications:
  • Master of Arts (Fraud and Financial Investigations) (expected 2010)
  • Graduate Diploma in Fraud and Financial Investigations
  • Advanced Diploma of Investigations
  • Diploma of Government (Fraud Control Investigations)
  • Diploma of Business