A CLAIM has been made in court evidence that an international detective agency broke into the e-mail system of Wakefield Quin ? but the local law firm has categorically denied that there is any evidence of that.

The allegation surfaced in a secretly-filmed video tape that was admitted into evidence in a civil case related to the IPOC International Growth Fund.

A senior counsel of Wakefield Quin referred us to Alan Dunch, the lawyer acting for the firm in connection with the IPOC litigation and investigation.

"Having been made aware of the allegation that Wakefield Quin's computer network had been breached, a full investigation was undertaken," Mr. Dunch said yesterday.

"No evidence whatsoever was unearthed that would in any way substantiate the allegation."

He declined to comment further.

The allegation was made by Jeffrey Galmond, the Danish lawyer who runs the Bermuda-based IPOC Fund, in the course of a conversation with a former business associate, James Hatt.

"You know Kroll broke into the e-mail system of Wakefield Quin," Mr. Galmond told Mr. Hatt. "They are very good, I must hand it to them, they are very good, right?"

The conversation took place at the Ritz Hotel in London on September 6, 2004, and Mr. Hatt filmed it without the knowledge of Mr. Galmond.

We contacted the global headquarters of Kroll in New York, but they offered no comment for our story. However, an industry source suggested that the company had not broken into Wakefield Quin's e-mails.

A transcript of the tape's content was entered into evidence in a British Virgin Islands court to support the case of respondents CT Mobile and Alfa against IPOC.

Wakefield Quin is one of several Bermuda companies to have provided services to IPOC.

A senior counsel of the firm and a former IPOC director, Roderick Forrest, gave evidence to a BVI court in one of several civil cases around the world involving the Fund.

Stephen Davidson, of IT security specialists QuoVadis, said, on hearing of the allegation: "When allegations such as this arise, it highlights the need for businesses, particularly professional advisers, to ensure they are providing adequate privacy and security for their systems, including e-mail.

"Even partial access to information can have great value to malicious outsiders. This is something that QuoVadis is actively engaged in working on with the Bermuda Government and with local law firms."

He added that many companies now used digital certificates and encryptions, which beef up e-mail security.

It is against Bermuda law to gain unauthorised access to any data held in a computer, under the Misuse of Computers Act 1996.

The $1-billion IPOC Fund is currently subject to a money-laundering investigation being carried out by KPMG on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.

Russia's IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman is believed by some to be the fund's true beneficiary, although Mr. Galmond has consistently claimed that he is the owner.

The video evidence also reveals Mr. Galmond offering $1 million, apparently on behalf of Mr. Reiman, to Mr. Hatt to keep quiet about certain business matters, or, in Mr. Galmond's words, to "suffer a very strong attack of Alzheimer's concerning these things".

When Mr. Hatt said he had been offered $1 million to reveal information to outside parties on IPOC-related companies, Mr. Galmond said "we will compensate that, dollar for dollar," to keep quiet.

Kroll's name is mentioned several times in the video as being involved in gathering intelligence for opponents of Mr. Galmond. It is is not the only agency seeking information to use in legal proceedings involving IPOC.

KPMG Financial Advisory Services Ltd. is suing Washington, DC-based Diligence for $11 million for allegedly attempting to bribe its employees for information on the IPOC probe. That case is being heard in a US court.

Mr. Galmond is engaged in a legal battle with Russian oligarch Mikhail Friedman over the ownership of Russia's third-largest mobile telephone company, Megafon.

Several companies embroiled in the case are trying to prove that Mr. Galmond is just the front man for Mr. Reiman and that the pair have drained Russian telecommunication companies of millions of dollars.

They claim that this took place at the time of the privatisation of the Russian telecommunication industry at the beginning of the 1990s.

The claimed last December that Mr. Reiman's money was channelled through a number of shell companies and before being deposited in the Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB) under the name of the IPOC Fund. Mr. Reiman has denied the claims.