Goodwork LLC
Confidential · Access Required
Goodwork LLC
Confidential · Access Required
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Most businesses operating in the GCC are more exposed than they realise. The risks that cost the most rarely announce themselves — until the damage is already done.
These are not hypothetical scenarios. They are the situations Goodwork is called into, repeatedly, by businesses and investors operating in the GCC who believed their situation was different. It was not.
Most advisory firms operating in the GCC were not built for it. They bring Western frameworks, English-only engagement, and teams who learned this market from the outside. That gap costs clients — in missed context, in overlooked risk, and in findings that do not hold up when they need to.
Engagements are conducted in Arabic, English, or Russian — whatever the client and the context require. Reports and legal documentation are prepared in the language required by local regulatory authorities, regardless of the client’s language. You are never navigating this alone in the wrong language.
16 years of GCC experience — not studying it from abroad, but operating inside it. Government frameworks, private sector investigations, family office disputes, financial institution mandates. The cultural and commercial context that generic advisory firms miss is what we have built our practice on.
Our team engages clients and counterparties across the GCC in the language that the situation demands — and delivers reporting in the language that local regulators, courts, and authorities require.
Investigation reports, legal submissions, regulatory filings, and board communications delivered in the language required — not just the language preferred.
Through our specialist partner network, Goodwork also supports engagements requiring additional language and jurisdictional expertise beyond the GCC.
Fraud and weak controls are not one-time events. They compound — and they cost more than most businesses realise until the damage is done.
Source: ACFE Report to the Nations 2024 — Global Study on Occupational Fraud and Abuse
Regional legal counsel operating across UAE, KSA, and Qatar consistently report that foreign businesses are disproportionately targeted — unfamiliarity with local counterparty norms and regulatory expectations makes them easier marks. The losses are avoidable. The controls are not complicated. They just need to be built.
Every case Goodwork has been called into could have cost less if it had been addressed earlier. The businesses that acted before a loss occurred spent a fraction of what the ones who waited spent managing the consequences. The right time to act is before something goes wrong.
We cover the full spectrum of fraud risk and governance — so you don’t have to coordinate between multiple firms or discover gaps after the fact.
Find out where you are exposed — and what to do about it. We assess fraud risk across your operations and investigate suspected misconduct with the rigour required for legal proceedings. Evidence-ready output. Full chain of custody.
Know who you are dealing with before you commit. We verify partners, investors, counterparties and vendors — beneficial ownership, background, reputation and risk — across the GCC and globally. You commit with confidence, or you walk away before the loss.
Build the structures that protect your operations and satisfy your regulators. Practical governance frameworks designed for how businesses actually operate in the Gulf — not adapted from foreign models that don’t fit the regional reality.
For owners and investors who need to understand the risk embedded in how a business actually runs — before they scale it, acquire it, or restructure it. We find the gaps that are invisible until they become expensive.
Every engagement starts with a confidential conversation. No commitment required until you decide there is one.
I believe the best protection against fraud is a framework built by someone who understands how it actually happens.
Before founding Goodwork, I spent my career at Big Four and leading advisory firms — building fraud risk frameworks for governments and ministries, investigating fraud at the highest levels, and advising financial institutions on regulatory compliance across the GCC and East Asia.
What I do now at Goodwork is make that level of expertise available directly — without the overhead, the delays, or the junior teams that characterise larger firms.
Goodwork LLC is registered in the UAE. Maher also holds Individual Entrepreneur (ИП) registration in Russia — reflecting a genuine commitment to serving clients across both markets, not just passing through.
Former Executive Director at a major GCC Development Group. Leads all client relationships — in Russian where preferred. Deep expertise in commercial fraud, procurement risk, and vendor management. Brings the regional and cultural fluency that makes the difference between a technically correct engagement and one that actually works for the client.
International lawyer specialising in regulatory compliance, company setup, and social responsibility frameworks across the GCC. Leads relationships in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Qatar. Board-level advisory on governance strategy, operational compliance, and local regulatory alignment.
Three engagements. Real situations. Real outcomes. All client details anonymised.
Two family offices entering UAE markets with serious capital. Both had JV partners and deal structures that looked sound. Neither had been independently verified. In both cases, what we found when we looked changed the picture materially. Fraud was uncovered, losses were stopped, legal proceedings were supported. Both clients chose to move to an ongoing advisory mandate. Both remain active relationships.
Two separate investigations into CEO-level misconduct across major real estate development projects. Owners and boards suspected fraud at the highest level. Integrity due diligence, directorship checks, social media monitoring, forensic analysis of accounts, contracts and communications, interviews across both organisations. Fact-finding reports presenting fraud schemes with amounts and named culprits. Executive reports for boards and detailed reports for audit committees, regulators, and Public Prosecution.
An industrial manufacturing plant. The CFO had been trusted, senior, and unchecked. The owners needed evidence that would hold up before the Public Prosecution, Police, and a court. We reconstructed five years of payments, interviewed the full management chain, built a fact-based evidence file, and prepared Arabic-language reports for all legal proceedings. Coordinated with legal counsel, filed for travel ban, and led the asset recovery process through to conclusion.
These are three of more than forty investigations and twenty-five fraud risk assessments Goodwork has led across the GCC.
See the Work →How It Starts
30 minutes. Confidential. In the language that works for you. No commitment required.
Maher reviews your situation and identifies the right track. We tell you honestly if it’s not a fit.
Specific, honest, clear. Deliverables, timeline, fees. Nothing generic.
Your business is protected from the first session. Not from when the report lands.
The right time to act is before something goes wrong — not after it already has. All initial consultations are confidential.
Investigations and due diligence cannot be packaged in advance — they are scoped per situation. Advisory and framework work follows a structured path. We are clear about which track applies before any engagement begins.
For businesses building or strengthening governance and risk infrastructure. Predictable scope, clear deliverables, defined timeline.
For situations requiring investigation or verification. Scope, timeline, and fees defined after a confidential brief. No generic proposals sent blind.
All investigative work is confidential. Fees on application following initial brief.
All initial consultations are confidential. Engagements are conducted in the language that works for you. No obligation until you decide there is one.