Baltazar Vallenilla is a managing director in the Investigations, Diligence and Compliance practice of Kroll, based in the Chicago office. Baltazar leads domestic and international investigations for law firms, corporate clients, state agencies and universities on a variety of matters, including litigation support, due diligence investigations, asset search investigations, proxy fights/hostile takeovers, Title IX investigations, internal investigations, employee fraud and misconduct investigations and competitive intelligence assignments. Baltazar has ample experience leading assignments requiring pre-discovery expertise and is a skilled interviewer in English and Spanish.
Baltazar Vallenilla is a managing director in the Investigations, Diligence and Compliance practice of Kroll, based in the Chicago office. Baltazar leads domestic and international investigations for law firms, corporate clients, state agencies and universities on a variety of matters, including litigation support, due diligence investigations, asset search investigations, proxy fights/hostile takeovers, Title IX investigations, internal investigations, employee fraud and misconduct investigations and competitive intelligence assignments. Baltazar has ample experience leading assignments requiring pre-discovery expertise and is a skilled interviewer in English and Spanish.
Before joining Kroll in 2008, Baltazar was an attorney in Chicago, representing plaintiffs in class action and multidistrict litigation in product liability cases. Before moving to the U.S., Baltazar served as a judicial clerk for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Caracas, Venezuela. Utilizing his keen cross-cultural awareness and in-depth understanding of the business and political environment in Central and South America, Baltazar regularly helps clients make informed and advantageous decisions in their dealings in the region.
His personal casework includes working with a client interested in buying a seemingly successful business operation in order to identify any potential issues regarding the company and its executives. Through a keen analysis of a combination of public records and digital media, Baltazar was able to uncover questionable business practices, including potential fraudulent targeting of elderly clients and the hiding of assets in anticipation of an unfavorable judgment. The information Baltazar provided helped the client to identify risks and issues involving the client, as well as understand how the company was perceived in the specific industry.
In another case, an American investor needed to verify the credentials and business reputation of a subject who reportedly had a string of successful ventures in South America. Baltazar was able to identify and interview business associates who had dealt with the subject in the past, providing the client with key sensitive information, including questionable business practices and allegations of bribery of foreign government officials.
Baltazar holds a J.D. from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Caracas, Venezuela) and a Master of Laws from the University of Illinois College of Law. He’s a licensed attorney in Illinois and Venezuela and is fluent in both English and Spanish.
On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it had taken additional steps in its approach to ease sanctions on Venezuela.
Kroll’s Investigations, Diligence and Compliance practice leverages our best-in-class multi-disciplinary team to help businesses, law firms, financial institutions, private equity firms, government agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals meet their most critical challenges.
The Kroll Investigations, Diligence and Compliance team consists of experts in forensic investigations and intelligence, delivering actionable data and insights that help clients worldwide make critical decisions and mitigate risk.
Proactively detect fraud and corruption with Kroll’s risk, investigations and data analytics experts, supported by an award-winning software.