International investigations · Corporate enquiry · Technical security
Evidence first.
Everything else
follows.
Hardesh Bhardwaj is a professional investigator and the founder–director of Advance Detective Agency. Since 2013 he has run corporate, personal and technical-security matters for clients in India and abroad — the kind of work that is read later by a board, a lawyer, or a court.
Investigator of the Year 2026 — World Association of Detectives. Presented in Cannes, France.
Hardesh Bhardwaj · Based in New Delhi, operating internationally
Recognition
Investigator of the Year 2026
World Association of Detectives, founded 1925
Role
Founder–Director
Advance Detective Agency, operating since 2013
Specialist practice
TSCM & counter-surveillance
Instrumented sweeps of offices, residences and vehicles
Coverage
Worldwide, based in New Delhi
Cross-border matters run from a single point of instruction
13
Years in practice
3,000+
Cases handled
1,800+
Private investigations
500+
TSCM sweeps
Cumulative across the practices since 2013. Case specifics are not published.
01 — Who he is
An investigator who works to a standard, not to a conclusion.
Based in New Delhi, working internationally. Available for corporate, legal and private engagements through the practices he leads.
Hardesh Bhardwaj is an investigator based in New Delhi who takes instructions worldwide. He is the founder–director of Advance Detective Agency, which has operated since 2013, and leads the practices working as Detective Agency India, Detective Agency Chandigarh and BugSweepingTSCM. His work covers corporate investigations, due diligence and background verification, fraud and internal-misconduct enquiries, field surveillance, missing-person tracing, and technical surveillance counter-measures. On 5 September 2026 the World Association of Detectives named him Investigator of the Year at its 101st Annual Conference in Cannes, France.
Most matters that reach him are not mysteries. They are decisions somebody is about to make — a hire, a marriage, an acquisition, a dismissal, a filing — where the facts are incomplete and being wrong is expensive. The work is to close that gap carefully, inside the law, and to report what the evidence supports rather than what the client hopes for.
That discipline is also why the first conversation matters. Some enquiries can be answered in an hour of records work. Some need weeks of fieldwork. Some cannot be taken at all, because the only method that would answer them is unlawful. He will say which it is before any engagement begins.
02 — Areas of expertise
Nine areas of work, drawn from the case files.
Every engagement is scoped individually and undertaken subject to applicable law, legitimate purpose and professional feasibility.
01
Corporate investigations
Internal misconduct, conflict of interest, vendor and channel irregularities, theft and pilferage, competitor conduct.
02
Due diligence
Counterparty, partner and investment checks before capital or a signature is committed — corporate record, reputation, litigation trail.
03
Background verification
Identity, address, education, employment history and public-record checks for employers, families and legal teams.
04
Fraud & financial enquiry
Documentary and field work on suspected fraud, misrepresentation and irregular transactions, reported for decision or filing.
05
TSCM & counter-surveillance
Instrumented sweeps of boardrooms, executive offices, residences and vehicles for covert audio, video, RF and tracking devices.
06
Surveillance & field observation
Lawful observation of movement and association by trained field teams, documented to an evidentiary standard.
07
Personal & matrimonial matters
Pre- and post-marriage verification and family enquiries, handled quietly and without moral commentary.
08
Missing-person tracing
Locating people through records research, field intelligence and network enquiry, in coordination with the family and, where required, the authorities.
09
Brand & IP protection
Counterfeit and infringement enquiries, market sampling and evidence gathering to support trademark and copyright action.
03 — The practice
Four names, one standard of work.
The practices below share methodology, reporting format and confidentiality protocol. They are separated by mandate and territory, not by quality. Work outside India is instructed through him directly and run with counterpart investigators in the country concerned. Service enquiries are handled on each company's own site.
Advance Detective Agency
Founder–Director · Delhi NCR · since 2013
The founding practice. Personal and corporate investigations out of New Delhi, with case teams for matrimonial and family matters, employment verification, sting and undercover work, and corporate debugging.
Detective Agency India
Pan-India mandate · New Delhi
The national arm: multi-city and multi-state engagements for companies, law firms and individuals, where one matter has to be worked in several jurisdictions at once with a single reporting line.
Detective Agency Chandigarh
Chandigarh · Mohali · Panchkula · since 2013
The tricity practice, with the local knowledge that regional fieldwork depends on — Punjab, Haryana and Himachal enquiries run from Chandigarh rather than remotely from Delhi.
BugSweepingTSCM
Technical security · Pan-India deployment
The technical-security unit: spectrum analysis, non-linear junction detection, thermal and line analysis for boardrooms, residences and vehicles, closing with a written sweep report.
04 — Recognition
Investigator of the Year
— 2026
Awarded by the World Association of Detectives — the international association for private investigators and security service organisations, founded in 1925 and the oldest body of its kind. Presented to Hardesh Bhardwaj on 5 September 2026 at the association's 101st Annual Conference in Cannes, France.
Awarding body
World Association of Detectives
Presented
5 September 2026 · Cannes
Conference
101st Annual · Hôtel Le Gray d'Albion
05 — Method
How a matter is actually run.
Five working principles that decide what is accepted, how it is worked, and what the client receives at the end.
-
I
Scope before fieldwork
The first conversation defines the question, the lawful methods available to answer it, the likely timeline and the cost. Nothing starts before that is agreed in writing.
-
II
Lawful methods only
Interception, account access, tracking without authority and impersonation of officials are not offered at any price. An enquiry that needs them is declined, and the reason is explained.
-
III
Evidence over inference
Findings are separated from interpretation in the report. Where something is probable but unproven, it is written as probable and unproven.
-
IV
Need-to-know handling
Field operatives work from task briefs, not case histories. Client identity, case detail and findings are shared only with the people the engagement requires.
-
V
A report you can use
Dated observations, source of each fact, supporting material indexed, and a clear statement of what remains unverified — a document that survives being read by the other side.
06 — Professional journey
Thirteen years of case work, in order.
2013
Advance Detective Agency is established in New Delhi. Detective Agency Chandigarh opens in the tricity the same year.
2013 →
Corporate work grows alongside private matters: employment verification, internal misconduct, due diligence and IP enquiries.
Pan-India
Detective Agency India consolidates multi-city engagements under one reporting line, with field capability in the major metros and state capitals.
TSCM
A dedicated technical-security unit is built around instrumented sweeping — spectrum analysis, junction detection, thermal and line analysis.
2026
Named Investigator of the Year by the World Association of Detectives, presented in Cannes, France.
Case details are not published. Client names, locations and outcomes remain confidential, including after a matter closes.
07 — Insights
Notes from the practice.
Short pieces on how this work is actually done — what a verification can and cannot establish, where technical security fails, and what the law allows. In preparation.
-
Due diligence
What a background check can prove, and what it only suggests
Forthcoming
-
Technical security
Why a consumer bug detector gives false comfort in a boardroom
Forthcoming
-
Corporate risk
Internal fraud is usually a process failure before it is a person
Forthcoming
08 — Industry presence
Cannes, September 2026.
The 101st Annual Conference of the World Association of Detectives, at the Hôtel Le Gray d'Albion — the week the Investigator of the Year award was presented.Media & events →
09 — Confidential enquiry
Discuss a confidential matter.
Describe the situation in as much or as little detail as you are comfortable with. The first review is a conversation about whether the matter can be worked, how, and at what cost — not a sales call.
Sector 41A, Chandigarh 160036
Enquiries are reviewed on a need-to-know basis. Please do not send documents, recordings or third-party personal data in a first message. Engagements are undertaken subject to applicable law, legitimate purpose, professional feasibility and case-specific assessment.