The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s recent US $125 million penalty against UBS Financial Services, described as its largest-ever penalty against a broker-dealer for Bank Secrecy Act violations, is a powerful reminder that effective AML controls depend on knowing who you are doing business with. The enforcement action highlighted weaknesses including transaction monitoring and customer due diligence. Read the ACAMS article
For organisations operating across or conducting business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), effective client vetting can be particularly challenging. Corporate information is often spread across multiple registries and jurisdictions, ownership structures can be complex, and information may be available in different languages.
A robust KYB process needs to go beyond confirming that a company exists. Compliance teams need to understand:
Who owns and controls the business?
Who are its directors and shareholders?
Are there complex corporate relationships or ownership chains?
Are key individuals PEPs or subject to sanctions?
Is there adverse media or other information that could indicate risk?
Has anything changed since the customer was onboarded?
This is where Diligencia can help.
Through ClarifiedBy, organisations can investigate companies and individuals across the Middle East and Africa using data sourced from more than 350 official and authoritative sources. Users can research corporate profiles, map ownership structures and UBOs, identify connected individuals and organisations, and screen for sanctions, PEPs and adverse media.
Importantly, due diligence shouldn't stop once a customer has been onboarded. Ownership, management and risk profiles can change, making ongoing monitoring an essential part of an effective risk-based approach.
The UBS case demonstrates that inadequate AML controls can have significant financial and reputational consequences.
For organisations doing business across MEA, having reliable corporate intelligence is a critical part of building an effective client vetting process.
Diligencia helps compliance and risk teams understand who they are really doing business with – from the company itself to its owners, directors and wider corporate network.
Find out more about ClarifiedBy
Due diligence and corporate intelligence in MEA
Diligencia helps customers from around the world to find essential information on organisations registered in Africa and the wider Middle East, drawing on primary sources that are otherwise hard to find. Using our curated data, we enable our clients to effectively manage their compliance obligations, allowing them to continuously monitor their suppliers and counterparty risks in the MEA region. Its proprietary database, available via ClarifiedBy and API, provides instant access to trusted legal entity data across MEA.