A critical component of any anti-money laundering or anti-corruption regime is knowing your client (KYC). KYC involves knowing a client’s identity, and knowing what activity to expect from them (their profile). Asking that client questions provides a small and clouded window into their profile, and is only part of the solution. Objective, rigorous, and thorough research provides a greater view of the client’s profile so that their fraud and money laundering risk (not to mention their needs) can be understood, rated, and actioned.
When Should You Conduct Enhanced Due Diligence Reviews?
Enhanced Due Diligence reviews should be conducted when you need to know more about your client: when on-boarding a high-risk client (such as a high net worth individual, a financially or politically exposed person, or another financial services provider); before executing high risk and high dollar value transactions (like letters of credit); for clients based in foreign jurisdictions where you have little local knowledge, when you have doubts about the information supplied by a client; or when you are trying to evaluate potentially suspicious client behaviour.
Williams McGuire AML Offers Enhanced Due Diligence Services
Through an international network of professional researchers, Williams McGuire AML offers Enhanced Due Diligence services geared towards anti-money laundering, as well as other categories of high risk activities. Our researchers, from around the world, gather and summarize information from reputable open sources, exclusive databases, and proprietary sources in over 50 languages. Williams McGuire AML synthesizes that information into a concise executive summary as a cover letter to the documents retrieved, and which comments on the money laundering risk significance of the information, and suggests mitigating actions. Those reports are clear evidence to regulators and senior management that money laundering risk was appropriately researched and documented.
Three Levels of Enhanced Due Diligence – From a Telescope to a Microscope
Williams McGuire AML provides three levels of Enhanced Due Diligence. The first level provides a high level view of the clients profile – highlighting matches against know risk lists, and providing insights into publically available information about that person and/or their company. Level II casts a wider net, into local language media, as well as civil, regulatory, bankrupticy and criminal filings involving the person or their businesses, . Level III is a deepest dive from the Level II platform, and includes corporate filings, international business verification, as well as reputation assessments. All Levels come with Williams McGuire AML commentary about the implications of the gathered information to money laundering risk.
We accept EDD requests via secure portal, acknowledge requests within 24 hours, and can return Level 1 reports through that same secure portal within 2 business days.
An overview of the EDD levels, the report components, and turnaround times are shown below.
Search Element
Level I
“Telescope”
Level II
“Binoculars”
Level III
“Microscope”
Executive Summary
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Risks Lists
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English Media
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Local Language Media
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Company Background
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Civil Filings
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Regulatory Filings
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Bankruptcy Filings
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International Business Verification
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Derogatory Statement Search
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Reputation Assessments
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AML Risk Rating and Comment
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Standard Turnaround Time (business days)
2-3
10-12
15-20
Contact Williams McGuire AML for a free KYC risk consultation, and for more details about leveraging this service to complete your compliance regime. Live help is available by clicking the button at the top right hand corner of this page.
Know Your Client, Know Your Risk
A critical component of any anti-money laundering or anti-corruption regime is knowing your client (KYC). KYC involves knowing a client’s identity, and knowing what activity to expect from them (their profile). Asking that client questions provides a small and clouded window into their profile, and is only part of the solution. Objective, rigorous, and thorough research provides a greater view of the client’s profile so that their fraud and money laundering risk (not to mention their needs) can be understood, rated, and actioned.
When Should You Conduct Enhanced Due Diligence Reviews?
Enhanced Due Diligence reviews should be conducted when you need to know more about your client: when on-boarding a high-risk client (such as a high net worth individual, a financially or politically exposed person, or another financial services provider); before executing high risk and high dollar value transactions (like letters of credit); for clients based in foreign jurisdictions where you have little local knowledge, when you have doubts about the information supplied by a client; or when you are trying to evaluate potentially suspicious client behaviour.
Williams McGuire AML Offers Enhanced Due Diligence Services
Through an international network of professional researchers, Williams McGuire AML offers Enhanced Due Diligence services geared towards anti-money laundering, as well as other categories of high risk activities. Our researchers, from around the world, gather and summarize information from reputable open sources, exclusive databases, and proprietary sources in over 50 languages. Williams McGuire AML synthesizes that information into a concise executive summary as a cover letter to the documents retrieved, and which comments on the money laundering risk significance of the information, and suggests mitigating actions. Those reports are clear evidence to regulators and senior management that money laundering risk was appropriately researched and documented.
Three Levels of Enhanced Due Diligence – From a Telescope to a Microscope
Williams McGuire AML provides three levels of Enhanced Due Diligence. The first level provides a high level view of the clients profile – highlighting matches against know risk lists, and providing insights into publically available information about that person and/or their company. Level II casts a wider net, into local language media, as well as civil, regulatory, bankrupticy and criminal filings involving the person or their businesses, . Level III is a deepest dive from the Level II platform, and includes corporate filings, international business verification, as well as reputation assessments. All Levels come with Williams McGuire AML commentary about the implications of the gathered information to money laundering risk.
We accept EDD requests via secure portal, acknowledge requests within 24 hours, and can return Level 1 reports through that same secure portal within 2 business days.
An overview of the EDD levels, the report components, and turnaround times are shown below.
Level I
“Telescope”
Level II
“Binoculars”
Level III
“Microscope”
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
2-3
10-12
15-20
Contact Williams McGuire AML for a free KYC risk consultation, and for more details about leveraging this service to complete your compliance regime. Live help is available by clicking the button at the top right hand corner of this page.