Costa Rica Private Investigator – Hiring, Wages, Free Trade

Free Trade has made the Costa Rica Private Investigator a more demanding profession for corporations and legal firms.

If you think being a Private Investigator is how Hollywood has glorified it, think again. Most PIs will tell you, nowadays it’s more leg work and lonely surveillance. The days of the Sam Spades and Philip Marlows may be over in the US, but not necessary in Costa Rica. With the industry now growing at a rapid rate, and the need for corporations and legal firms to use private investigators, the scope to specialize in more than one geographical location has increased, Costa Rica being one of those.

Costa Rica always has had a reputation for being the ideal spot to hide from the law. It is no secret many have sought sanction from criminal warrants and civil judgments.  Probably the most infamous in one of the biggest financial frauds in history (at the time) was scammer, Robert Lee Vesco who fled to Costa Rica in 1971. At the time a national law was made to protect him from extradition. Consequently, Costa Rica became the preferred home of many “bad guys,” with their lax laws on extradition, secluded areas, and the easy laws on obtaining residency.

But that all changed in 2007 when Costa Rica joined in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Beside commercial and technology trade it also opened a brand new set of doors for law firms, courts and private parties who are seeking those that have fled to Costa Rica for various civil (child/spouse support) and criminal (warrants/skip tracing) reasons.  However, the need for PI services has increase to personal matters such as: 1) Been wronged by your significant other, scammed or cheated by a business partner in Costa Rica.  2) Backgrounds checks on would be employees and/or employees that you suspect might be stealing or selling drugs etc. and/or a future spouse, to make sure you are not getting scammed  3) Infidelity reports (verification of activities and movements) on a cheating spouse and/or boy/girl friend.

Even with the free trade, just trying to serve a subpoena, one usually has to venture into an underground environment and criminal societies that demand the talents of the tough and hard core. Police in Costa Rica [as a rule] take the side of the bad guys and unlike the US; they do not provide a good reliable backup for several reasons, but the number one:  The police are paid about $380/month, which means, the bad guys and girls just pay them off (or give sex) not to give information to a  PI. And/or many a PI has found their way into a hospital. Costa Rica has some very rough parts of towns that even Al Capone would be stupid to venture into.

According to INTERPOL, Costa Rica harbors hundreds of international criminals whose crimes range from murder to child molestation.

If your P.I has a relationship with O.I.J. (Costa Rica F.B.I.) you are in for a bonus. O.I.J. are good to deal with and generally nice and professional (but lack of training) as you will find anywhere. Plus, O.I.J agents have access to all sorts of government files.

HIRING A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR IN COSTA RICA
Unlike the US, there is no licensing authority in Costa Rica for private investigators, so picking and choosing a PI can be the first gamble. If you are dealing with a foreigner, always asked to see a residency card and/or passport.

1) Never hire a PI who claims he or she works alone. Security and safety should be on your PI’s mind at all times and they do pay for it.

2) Make sure the PI is physically present in Costa Rica, has a Costa Rica cell number, and are in some way partnered with a Licensed Costa Rica Attorney (Consultores Iberoamericano de Derechos C.I.D.).  This is important due to the unique differences between law in Costa Rica and the United States. Costa Rica law is based on Napoleonic, in other words, guilty until proven innocent.

3) Be leery of any PI in the US that claimed they have connections in Costa Rica. Ninety-five percent of the time they will take your money and subcontract to a party in CR that may or may not have the skills and professionalism.

4) Check Credentials. If they list education or experience on their website and there is no substantive information concerning the education or experience, inquire as to where and when they obtained such qualifications, it is time to look for another PI.

For example, if the website indicates both investigations and security services it is usually one more than the other. Investigative skills and security skills are uniquely different and require vastly different education and training. Usually security people have military backgrounds whereas investigators have law enforcement backgrounds. If an agency claims they have military experience in Costa Rica, go to another firm. Costa Rica has not had a military since 1947. If they claim US military experience, ask to see their discharge papers. If they claim they have worked and trained for X years with an investigator in the US, call that firm.

5) There are some that will claim to beware of investigators who say they have “special connections” with the government or police in Costa Rica. They will add, The United States Code (Chapter 15) has a statute (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act FCPA) that prohibits any American citizen paying bribes or other consideration to influence a government or private officials to provide information not authorized by the laws of the foreign government.

Any quality PI in Costa Rica knows it takes money to get information. And Costa Rica’s is no stranger to corruption and no stranger to the open palm or Cost of Doing Business (CDB).

FINDING INFORMATION
Unlike the US, Costa Rica laws on privacy are very lenient and flawed; knowing the system, anyone can obtain information without the expensive court order.

For example, US and Canadian expats who do not have residency or citizenship can only stay in the country for 90days, before they have to renew that stay, so legally, they have to leave the country for 72/hours. A few dollars to a immigration officer, a few keystrokes later, and one can learn real quick who traveled where and for how long, and current city and address. Usually the first real  friend/partner of a PI will be an immigration official.

Back in June 2010, 1000s  of  Expats who had defaulted on sales tax suddenly found themselves being publicly embarrassed when there names were published in El Financiero, the weekly business newspaper put out by Grupo Nación.  When this happened, many on the list had some sort of infractions against them in the US, and a few suddenly found themselves being served for some type of civil judgment in the US.

In a recent Costa Rica court ruling it made it easier to get private information from credit reporting agencies. Everyone in Costa Rica, including expats, are being systematically logged into databases and the information is fairly easy to get by everyone.

Cero Riesgo continues to sell its public information available in bits and pieces (for as little as $7USD an inquire –  to $150USD/month for unlimited access) that they get from the Registro Civil and the Registro Nacional .  Even the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (National Insurance or INS) keeps a list of vehicles and their plate numbers by name of owner. Telephone numbers and their owners are available for free downloading from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).

Streets are almost impossible to find, let alone the addresses

WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO PAY?
Make sure your PI has good accounting records and expect to see CDB listed on it. Experience PIs who have worked in CR can pretty much give you a ball park figure. Retainers are usually high and can be around 50% if not more and it is not uncommon for the PI to demand 3-$4000 right up front.  CDBs can be anywhere from $20 to $100. The average worker in Costa Rica makes around $15/day, so paying a local $40-$100/day to keep tabs on a suspected cheating employee or spouse  is  a bargain that can generate great results.

In the US, to subpoena someone costs between $30-$60, that is, if you know the address. Unfortunately, if you need to  subpoena someone in San Jose, expect that fee to be around $450 and outside San Jose, add the travel time and expense.

The reason for the expense,   There is no such thing as “Yeah dude, just Google the address!”

Streets and addresses are nightmares, because there is virtually none.

A typical address may be like, “Go down the street a few kilometers until you see the store with the Imperial sign on the corner. Turn right …  go another kilometer until you see a large Mango tree. Turn right, then down 200 meters until you see the goat tied to the fence. Take the middle dirt road; turn left on the second dirt road.  It is the lime green house in back of the one with the three palm trees in front.”

Special thanks to Doug Smith of Will Spy for contributing to this article.

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