Council of International Investigators (CII)

The programme for the CII 72nd Annual General Meeting is here. Prague. 1 to 6 September 2026. Nine seminar speakers, Council business and elections, four evenings across three of the city's most distinctive venues, and a closing excursion to Konopiště Castle. Swipe through the highlights below. Speakers include a former Czech Minister of Justice on international fraud, a former head of the Mossad's Harpoon unit on terrorist financing, an investigative journalist on Russian influence in Europe, and specialists in OSINT, surveillance, anti-counterfeiting, and bank fraud. One practical note for anyone still deciding. Early September flights to Prague climb steeply the longer they are left. If the programme makes the case for you, and we think it does, the sensible move is to register and book travel now rather than closer to the date. The full programme, including sponsor listings, board profiles, and a guide to Prague, is available here: https://lnkd.in/eA4QzPqy Register at ciiagm.com #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators

Four weeks to Prague. Registration for the CII 72nd Annual General Meeting closes before September. If you have not yet confirmed your place, now is the time. The programme is full. A week of seminars, Council business, and four evenings across three of Prague's most distinctive venues, combining serious professional content with the kind of in-person time that makes an international network actually work. Early September flights to Prague climb the longer they are left, and the hotel block at the Grand Hotel International is available to registered delegates. Both reward booking early. Register now at ciiagm.com #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators

Technology does not burn a surveillance operation. People do. The kit gets better every year. Cameras are smaller, tracking is more precise, communication is faster. And yet operations still fail at the moment a human being makes the wrong call in the field. A glance that lasts a second too long. A position held too long in the same spot. A reaction that breaks the pattern. The subject notices. The operation is over. Surveillance work at its most demanding is not a technology problem. It is a human performance problem. The operator's judgment, composure, and ability to read behaviour in real time are what determine whether the operation survives contact with the unexpected. For investigators who work in or around surveillance, this matters practically. The principles do not change with the technology. An operator who understands the human mechanics of how people detect surveillance, and how to avoid triggering those detection instincts, is more valuable than any upgrade in equipment. At the CII Prague AGM, Sam Z. CII will draw on more than thirty years of operational fieldwork to examine the moments that make or break surveillance operations, and what it actually takes to stay effective and undetected in the field. Prague. 1 to 6 September 2026. Registration open now. Register at ciiagm.com #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #Surveillance #HumanFactor #OperationalSecurity #PrivateInvestigators

The CII Gala Banquet closes the Prague AGM on the evening of Friday 4th September. Black tie. Live music from Duo Santa Cecilia, harp and violin. After dinner, blues from The Villains. The venue is the Grand Bar International at the Grand Hotel International Prague, a building constructed in the 1950s as a luxury Soviet military headquarters, now a recognised Czech Cultural Monument and one of the city's most distinctive addresses. The Gala is the point in the week where the professional programme is complete and the evening belongs entirely to the people in the room, colleagues from across the global CII network, gathered in one of Europe's most storied cities. It is worth being there for. Registration is open at ciiagm.com. #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIGala #CIIAGM #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators

Meet one of our Prague speakers: Sam Zonensein CII Sam Z. brings more than thirty years of operational fieldwork across diverse surveillance environments. His career spans countless hours of close range tracking, complex multi-layered operations, and one on one encounters where situational awareness and human behaviour determine the outcome. Alongside his field experience, he has trained surveillance operators and teams in multiple countries, focusing on the operational mindset required to stay effective, adaptable, and undetected. His work emphasises what no system or AI can replicate: the judgment, discipline, and behavioural reading that define success or failure in live environments. At the CII Prague AGM, Sam will present: The Burn Factor: How One Wrong Move in Surveillance Can Cost Everything Even with all the advanced technology available today, the human factor still calls the shots. One small mistake can flip an entire operation. This session examines those one on one moments in the field where instinct, timing, and behaviour matter more than any gadget, and why sharp judgment and calm under pressure remain irreplaceable. The CII AGM runs 1 to 6 September 2026 in Prague. Registration is open now. Register at ciiagm.com #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #Surveillance #PrivateInvestigators #InvestigationProfessionals #HumanFactor

In 2026, CII recognises 9 members reaching 20 years of membership. Two decades. That is a professional lifetime in an industry that demands continuous development, ethical practice, and the kind of international relationships that only sustained commitment builds. Congratulations to the members recognised in this year's 20-year milestone class, representing the United States, Singapore, India, Argentina, Philippines, and the Netherlands. Twenty years of CII membership is a significant achievement. Thank you. #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIMilestones #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators

The best investigators you will never hear about. That's the quiet paradox of this work. Do it well, and no one knows you were there. The fraud that never reached court. The claim quietly withdrawn. The missing person found, and a family that asked only for privacy. Our finest work is invisible by design, and that's exactly how it should be. Today is International Private Investigator Day. One of the few days we say the quiet part out loud. So to the members of the Council of International Investigators, and to every investigator around the world: Thank you for the hours that never make the story. The surveillance that ends in nothing, because nothing is also an answer. The database still open at 2am. The conversation with a client who wanted a different result, and the discipline to give them the truth instead. Thank you for knowing the difference between what you suspect and what you can prove. For writing down only what the evidence supports. For understanding that a reputation, a case, and sometimes a life can rest on getting that line right. The profession Eugène Vidocq started in 1833 has changed beyond recognition, the tools, the law, the technology. What hasn't changed is the standard: work that is lawful, ethical, discreet, and defensible when it matters most. That's the craft. Quietly done, rarely seen, and worth honouring. To our members and colleagues everywhere, what's the part of this work the public never sees, but you're most proud of?👇 #CII #PrivateInvestigator #Investigations #PIDay #ProfessionalStandards

The full programme for the CII 72nd Annual General Meeting is live at ciiagm.com. Here is what the week looks like. Tuesday 1 September — Registration, optional sporting activities, opening cocktail reception with live music and traditional beer tapping at the Grand Bar International. Wednesday 2 September — Opening Ceremony, Annual General Meeting and Elections, seminars with Jiří Hynek and Sanjay Kaushik CII, Awards Dinner at Brewery U Medvídků. Thursday 3 September — Seminars with Dr Ehud Levy, Dr Robert Pelikán, Oldřich Šelenberk, and Roman Bazikalov CII. Charity Auction Dinner at Strahov Monastery Brewery. Friday 4 September — Seminars with Bernhard Maier CII, Sam Zonenshein CII, and Daniel Bertrand CII. Black Tie Gala Banquet at the Grand Bar International. Saturday 5 September — Conference excursion to Konopiště Castle. Ten seminars. Five evenings. One of Europe's most distinctive cities. Registration is open at ciiagm.com. #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators

Terrorist organisations do not operate without money. They pay salaries. They move funds across borders. They use shell companies, hawala networks, cryptocurrency, and legitimate businesses as cover. They exploit the same financial infrastructure that the rest of the world relies on. The challenge for investigators is that the money rarely looks like terrorism. It looks like a property transaction, a charitable donation, a trade finance arrangement. The illegality is buried in the purpose, not always in the mechanism. For private investigators working on fraud, sanctions, due diligence, or financial crime, this matters directly. The structures used to finance terrorism overlap significantly with those used in commercial fraud, money laundering, and asset concealment. Understanding how they work makes you better at all of it. At the CII Prague AGM, Dr Udi Levi will draw on more than three decades of operational intelligence work to examine how terrorist organisations build, move, and protect their financial systems, and what that means for investigators working at the intersection of finance and security. Prague. 1 to 6 September 2026. Registration open. Register at ciiagm.com #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #TerroristFinancing #FinancialCrime #InternationalInvestigations #FinancialIntelligence

The CII Charity Auction Dinner takes place on the evening of Thursday 4 September at Klášterní pivovar Strahov (the @Strahov Monastery Brewery), steps from Prague Castle. This year the auction will raise funds for two causes. 50% of proceeds will go to the Foundation for Holocaust Victims, a Czech charity chosen by our hosts, which supports elderly Holocaust survivors in the Czech Republic and preserves Jewish heritage and memory. The remaining 50% will go to the CII Kirby Scholarship Fund, which supports the next generation of investigative professionals. The evening will feature live music from Der Šenster Gob, a Prague-based acoustic band blending Eastern European, Gypsy, and Jewish folk music. Their name, from Yiddish, translates as "the most beautiful gift." The venue is Prague's highest-altitude brewery, founded within the grounds of a working monastery, producing unfiltered specialty beers on site. This is one of the evenings that makes the CII AGM worth attending in person. Registration is open at ciiagm.com. #CouncilOfInternationalInvestigators #CIIPrague2026 #CIIAGM #InternationalInvestigations #PrivateInvestigators #CIIKirbyScholarship