THE EQNX DIFFERENCE

Background due diligence is not simply about confirming whether information exists. The significance often lies in how different pieces of information connect.

EQNX was founded by a lawyer, and that way of thinking remains central to how we approach Background Due Diligence. Legal practice teaches you not to take information at face value. It teaches you to question what is missing, test whether an account stands up, look for cause and consequence, and understand why a particular fact may matter in the wider circumstances.

We bring that discipline to our research. It means approaching a background not as a collection of search results, but as a factual picture that needs to be tested, understood and put into perspective. This discipline is applied to reputational, commercial and strategic intelligence — not to legal advice or legal due diligence.

Understanding the background is our job. Advising on its legal consequences is your lawyer’s.

WHEN DUE DILIGENCE MATTERS?

Background Due Diligence can support decisions involving individuals, organisations and counterparties across both sport and the wider business environment.

Transfers, Recruitment & Appointments

Before signing an athlete, appointing a coach, executive or senior employee, or bringing an individual into a visible position of trust.

Information is easy to collect. Context is harder.

A database may tell you that a company exists, that a person held a particular role or that their name appeared in litigation or media reporting. It will not necessarily tell you how those facts relate to one another, whether the chronology makes sense, or whether a seemingly minor connection changes the wider picture.

We approach Background Due Diligence as a research and analysis exercise rather than a screening exercise. That means following information across sources, testing statements against the available record, looking at relationships and chronology, and going back to original material wherever possible.We also distinguish carefully between fact, allegation and commentary. A negative article is not automatically a red flag. An association is not automatically problematic. Context matters.

Our role is to work out what is material — and explain why.

how eqnx operates

The starting point is not a database. It is the question the client is trying to answer.

Before accepting an assignment, we need to understand the decision being considered, who or what is being reviewed, the jurisdictions involved and whether there are particular concerns already on the client’s radar. While conducting Background Due Diligence, we do not use privileged, confidential sources, covert approaches, unauthorised access or other intrusive investigative methods, ensuring that the work is based exclusively on publicly available and lawfully accessible information. Where the public record is limited, contradictory or cannot be independently verified, we make that clear.

A review concerning a prospective business partner will not look the same as one concerning an athlete transfer, a senior appointment or a party to a dispute. The research should reflect the decision it is intended to support.

For that reason, every assignment is scoped individually.

Depending on the circumstances, our research may include:

• media and press archives

• corporate and directorship records

• litigation and regulatory information where publicly accessible

• professional history and publicly verifiable credentials

• business interests and associated entities

• social media and wider digital footprint

• historic and archived online material

• relevant public statements, interviews and publications

• identifiable professional and commercial associations

We assess findings for relevance and reliability rather than simply reproducing search results.

Where the available information raises further questions, reveals inconsistencies or leaves material gaps, those points are identified clearly so the client can determine whether further legal, compliance or specialist work is required.