A 27-year-old man was able to beat his former boss to business deals after allegedly installing a sophisticated listening program in the shipowner’s laptop computer, police said yesterday after arresting the suspect.

Officers were called in by the businessman after his former employee, a Ukrainian national, set up a rival shipping company and seemed to be one step ahead of him in closing deals.

After examining the unnamed entrepreneur’s computer, officers discovered that spy software had been installed in the laptop which allegedly allowed the 27-year-old to automatically record any conversations made via the Internet.

Police found that the software, which the suspect allegedly devised on his own, also worked as a bug, recording voices even when the computer was switched off.