From verifying the identity of onboarding clients to sanction list checking and monitoring, EV is the best way for brokers and advisers to do their due diligence on overseas investors, particularly as the money laundering carried out by increasingly sophisticated criminals is on the rise.
EV can carry out checks on new customers without the need for manual methods of verification. It can identify people on sanctions, politically exposed persons, special interest persons, and relatives and close associates in minutes. And it will identify customers operating in high-risk companies and monitor customers – daily, if necessary.
International verification is challenging due to regulatory, cultural and technological differences between countries. By integrating multiple data sources, EV can verify international individuals and businesses, processing them under the same rigorous standards as our UK checks.
The 2020 money laundering and terrorist finance regulations recommends that regulated firms use EV as part of their due diligence to make it as effective as possible.
At the end of the day, companies need to minimise their risk of breaching the regulations or face the prospect of fines and reputational damage. In my opinion, it is the best way to keep dirty money out of the UK’s open economy.
Martin Cheek is managing director of SmartSearch
