Beyond the Public Record
Public records and open-source information often only tell part of the story. When adverse information is identified, or a third-party or investment target is based in a higher risk jurisdiction, source inquiries provide the insight, context and clarity necessary for clients to make informed decisions.
Source Inquiries & Compliance
An increasingly global footprint for businesses requires increasingly careful attention to the risks inherent in doing business overseas.
Vcheck’s third-party management system Vcheck RED allows clients to onboard, manage and monitor their third-parties worldwide. Where RED identifies issues during initial onboarding or automated screenings, such as inclusion in a database of political exposure, sanctions, or other adverse information, users can directly request a Vcheck Intelligence Source Inquiry Report to gather additional insight. Key insights provided by our Source Inquiry Reports for international jurisdictions include:
Operating with Integrity?
Even in cases within jurisdictions that have superior public records availability and strong media ecosystems, source inquiries can be a valuable addition to any due diligence project. Human sources can provide reputational insight on businesses and executives operating across sectors to ensure that client’s acquisition targets, third parties, or business partners operate with integrity. These inquiries can be targeted on specific issues identified in open-source research, tailored to clients’ specific needs, or be broadly targeted to gain a holistic reputational understanding.
Tough Questions
Sometimes clients seek to engage with a partner who may have past reputational issues—ranging from sanctions violations to allegations of corruption or bribery—for which they have claimed to make amends and improve compliance processes. Source inquiries can seek to verify whether or not such claims bear up to scrutiny.
Core Features
Source Inquiries Go Beyond the Public Record
Source inquiries can identify political exposure not identified in open sources or PEP databases, or provide additional insight into such relationships from well informed sources to help clients avoid political entanglements.
Source inquiries can identify past histories of illicit behavior by third parties, highlight corruption risks with third parties and help clients limit their risk exposure. Corruption and bribery present some of the most substantial risks for companies operating in challenging jurisdictions.
Source inquiries can identify past histories of illicit behavior by third parties, highlight corruption risks with third parties and help clients limit their risk exposure.
Source inquiries can support clients in identify and verifying reported sources of wealth and funding, as well as clarifying beneficial ownership structures of businesses via networks of informed and trusted sources. In opaque jurisdictions, confirming that a business is accurately representing its ownership structure and officers’ bona-fides is vital.
Identifying allegations of sanctions evasion, business with sanctioned individuals or entities is a regular focus of source inquiry work for clients operating in high-risk jurisdictions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vcheck always conducts source inquiries in accordance with US and local law. Vcheck can conduct source inquiries in any jurisdiction not subject to comprehensive US sanctions. Countries in which Vcheck cannot conduct source inquiries include: Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Iran and the Crimea Region of Ukraine.
Vcheck relies on strong and trusted networks of sources who have worked with the team many years. We are confident in our ability to provide commentary and insight from these networks. We also cross reference findings across human sources and open source information to provide as much collaboration as possible.
Through the combination of open source and human intelligence, Vcheck Global’s investigators can often identify the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of a company operating in an opaque jurisdiction and more importantly understand if that UBO is the actual owner or a front man.