Investigation into Sources of Wealth and Reputational Risk
A Prominent Brazilian Business–Political Family
Client objective
A client required an independent, defensible assessment of the sources of wealth, political exposure, and reputational risk associated with a prominent Brazilian family with significant interests across multiple industries.
Our role
Madeleine Research conducted a combined open-source- and human-source-led investigation into wealth formation, political relationships, governance evolution, and historic controversies—separating public narrative from present-day risk.
The engagement was structured to begin with OSINT to identify reputational risk signals, followed by targeted human source enquiries to test credibility, materiality, and current relevance.
OSINT Scoping & Risk Identification
The project began with structured open-source research across media archives, court records, regulatory disclosures, and public reporting.
This initial OSINT review identified:
Recurring reputational references to corruption cases within sectors, counterparties, or political environments linked to family-controlled businesses
Historic allegations and investigations widely cited in public discourse
No evidence of direct involvement by the individuals under review in criminal conduct or illicit enrichment
These findings were treated as contextual risk indicators rather than conclusions, and were used to shape the scope, sequencing, and focus of subsequent human source enquiries.
HUMINT-Led Scope & Methodology
Given the age, sensitivity, and politicisation of many of the issues identified in open sources, the investigation relied primarily on human intelligence to assess substance versus narrative.
We interviewed:
Senior political figures, regulators, and former ministers
Current and former executives within family-controlled businesses
Institutional investors, analysts, and ratings specialists
Journalists, political strategists, and former board members
Insights were triangulated across sources with conflicting incentives, allowing us to distinguish:
Allegation from substantiated concern
Political proximity from improper conduct
Sector-wide exposure from individual accountability
Legacy controversy from current reputational risk
Key Findings
The family’s core wealth was built through legitimate businesses, not political office
However, the most politically exposed asset, a telecom, was:
Structurally exposed to political scrutiny
Commercially weak
An outlier within an otherwise conservative portfolio
While corruption-related cases featured in open-source narratives, sources consistently indicated:
No direct involvement by the individuals reviewed
Reputational exposure driven primarily by association with sectoral and political environments, rather than actions taken by the family
Other family members are viewed as low-profile, commercially focused, and reputationally low risk
Well-placed sources see no realistic prospect of historic issues being revisited
Client Value
The work enabled the client to:
Understand how wealth was actually created—not how it is portrayed
Separate open-source corruption narratives from substantiated risk
Assess political exposure without conflating it with wrongdoing
Distinguish proximity from participation
Evaluate whether legacy controversies represent live reputational risk