UK-based legal technology company Verify 365 announces its latest update to help law firms carry out enhanced international business verifications.
Specialist Know Your Client (KYC) & Anti Money Laundering (AML) technology provider Verify 365 helps law firms verify their clients and source of funds by combining biometrics and other verification technologies such as Open Banking to deliver seamless and secure client journey experiences. The digital onboarding platform now launches an upgraded version of its Know Your Business (KYB) verification featuring ongoing monitoring for fraud, sanctions screening and money laundering checks.
The launch of the upgraded Know Your Business Verification means it is now the most complete watch list service on the market. With the addition of 49 new countries Verify 365 can now verify businesses in over 165 countries through its online platform.
Verify 365 aims to provide the legal sector with accurate risk intelligence to identify ultimate beneficiary ownership (UBO), group structures, established addresses and key management personnel.
“Law firms can use the platform to locate business and director information from around the globe in seconds. From there, biometric ID verification, UBO information and company documentation is automatically analysed, offering a centralised view of verifications and corporate structures. Together, these checks securely streamline the onboarding of companies from all over the world, so significantly reducing risk and fraud,” said Mev Dzihic, CTO at Verify 365.
AML compliance remains the number one concern on the SRA’s radar with further extensive checks carried out this year on AML compliance by firms. The SRA’s annual report on this subject reveals that only 22% of law firms were fully AML compliant. Verify 365 claims to have built its KYB verification around the SRA regulatory compliance, FATF recommendations and international money laundering regulations to provide a comprehensive compliance solution.
Azeem Rashid, Director of Verify 365, said:
“The demand for KYB checks is continuously growing. The current political and economic landscape presents serious challenges for those dealing with overseas clients. One of the main challenges is identifying the ultimate beneficial owners, so the true owners of the company. Complex ownership structures or the use of shell companies are often used to disguise criminal activities and carry out financial crimes.”
Azeem points outs that another key challenge for law firms is working with businesses that have links with sanctioned individuals or PEPs. The AML checks have to be done at the onboarding stage but a secure process should involve “ongoing monitoring” to ensure the company and individuals are legitimate.
“As a global AML service provider, we continuously innovate to meet an increasingly wide-ranging and diverse range of regulatory compliance requirements that law firms face every day. KYB software and risk-based processes must be at the forefront of the strategy for every law firm in 2023,” added Azeem.
