(43)Before initiating an investigation, the lead competent authority should be able to request information from economic operators under assessment and also from other relevant stakeholders, including the persons or associations that have submitted relevant information to competent authorities. The lead competent authority should be able to choose not to request additional information from economic operators if it assesses that this could lead to an attempt by those economic operators to hide a situation of forced labour and thus jeopardise the investigation. The lead competent authority should initiate an investigation where, based on its assessment of all available information or on the basis of any other facts available where it was not possible to gather information and evidence during the preliminary phase of the investigation, it establishes that there is a substantiated concern that there has been a violation of the prohibition of products made with forced labour.