Due diligence is the corner stone of the CBI industry and over 90% of the work involved in approving CBI applications is involved in due diligence and background checks involved in vetting of applicants, before a citizenship and subsequently a passport for travel is granted. Governments and agents cannot do it alone for applicants coming from every corner of the world, and this where third party due diligence firms can help and play a crucial role in vetting.

CBI Agents should not hesitate to avail the services of due diligence firms if you suspect the client has a shady background and therefore we highly recommend the companies below for due diligence report.

1. Exiger

Exiger the global regulatory, financial crime, risk and compliance company offers Immigration, Citizenship & Visa (ICV) due diligence practice. It also assists organizations worldwide with practical advice and technology solutions to prevent compliance breaches, respond to risk, remediate major issues and monitor ongoing business activities.

In 2017 Exiger launched Immigration, Citizenship & Visa (ICV) due diligence practice with the acquisition of IPSA’s Investigative Due Diligence Practice. The acquisition includes IPSA International, Inc., IPSA’s Canadian subsidiary located in Vancouver, BC (IPSA Canada) and IPSA’s London, Hong Kong and Miami offices and employees. IPSA Canada has principally performed due diligence related to immigration, citizenship and visas. IPSA is considered an industry pioneer in work related to Citizenship by Investment programs and a trusted leader relied upon by many of the largest and fastest growing programs in the world.

https://www.exiger.com

2. BDO Consulting

BDO performs comprehensive due diligence on individuals and entities in order to alert clients to risks, disclosure issues, and potential negotiation points. Our multidisciplinary project teams provide support tailored to meet clients’ individual needs, from M&A dispute resolution and tax planning to financial due diligence.

BDO’s dedicated team conducts investigations on behalf of government programs worldwide delivering cost-effective investigative reporting and analysis in a manner that protects the integrity of the citizenship program and the reputation of the granting nation.

https://www.bdo.com/

3. Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters comprehensive reports offer detailed, discreet, and ethical business intelligence, powered by World-Check risk intelligence. Enhanced due diligence (EDD) is used by global organizations to mitigate and protect against reputational damage from higher-risk customers.

The Accelus IntegraScreen Premium Report for Economic Citizenship offers a comprehensive enhanced due diligence insight into the individual applying for citizenship within this framework. Verification of the individual’s education, previous employment history and passport validity through World-Check’s passport check. In addition, we will confirm their purported asset register, their claimed business affiliations, and conduct searches for adverse information in the media and via the internet. Global compliance checks, and litigation, bankruptcy, regulatory and law enforcement checks will complete the report.

Enhanced Due Diligence reports are often used for:

For third party risk

Before mergers, acquisitions, or joint ventures

When automated risk information screening reveals risk

For immigrant investor or economic residency programs

When on-boarding high net worth or high profile clients

As a key component of a comprehensive compliance program

For screening distributors, supply chains, intermediaries, and multinational companies

To enhance an existing compliance process, where risk assessment resources are stretched

For Politically Exposed Persons, bribery, corruption, labor practice, and financial crime screening

Where geopolitical risk information analysis flags a transaction or individual as linked to a high risk jurisdiction or country

https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/en/products/enhanced-due-diligence.html

4. Wealth X

Wealth-X Diligence provides a unique combination of in-depth intelligence on individuals spanning all levels of wealth for organizations looking to meet regulatory or best practice requirements, and mitigate reputational and commercial risk.

With increasing regulation and trends toward greater transparency, understanding source of wealth is a cornerstone of due diligence. Wealthx offers a solution designed for KYC compliance, the Wealth-X Diligence dossier incorporates the elements of anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) checks to ensure that you meet your regulatory responsibilities and understand any risks

https://www.wealthx.com/

5. Sterling Diligence

Sterling (formerly Bishops) is a global due diligence firm that specializes in citizenship investigations. Bishops Services is the oldest privately held investigation and corporate due diligence firm in the United States. Founded in 1898, Bishops uses its decades of experience to bring insight, accuracy and timeliness to its investigations around the world.

Bishops conducts in-depth research to gather confidential and timely information about the business history, resources, credentials and reputation of parties of interest. A Bishops Due Diligence Investigation uncovers:

Identity Risks

Conflicts of Interest

Criminal Records

Financial Crimes

Links to Organized Crime

Civil Litigation

Character Issues

Omissions of Material Information

Inflated Qualifications

https://www.sterlingdiligence.com/

6. S-RM

S-RM works with some of the world’s leading investment banks, wealth and asset managers, insurance companies, and securities firms to help them meet evolving regulatory and operational demands. Assisting clients faced with a range of threats, from money laundering, terrorism financing and fraud through to reputational damage, political risk and cyber attacks.

ENHANCED DUE DILIGENCE REPORTING: We support compliance teams at investment and commercial banks with due diligence on corporate clients, providing a range of reporting. We also help private banks with their customer due diligence by providing independent assessments of the source of wealth and political exposure of the bank’s new and existing high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UNHW) clients.

MAJOR FINANCINGS: We provide in-depth investigative due diligence support to investment banks reviewing M&A transactions, IPOs, bond issues, proprietary trading, and other major financings. We help clients with a range of diligence challenges, from understanding the reputation of an executive team to investigating the integrity of a key asset or license.

COUNTRY RISK: We help clients understand macro-level trends through analysis of regulatory, security and political developments.

DIRECTOR SCREENING: We work with financial advisors, including nominated advisors (NOMADs), to assess proposed directors for publicly-listed companies. We undertake background checks against their track record to understand their suitability and complete independent verification of documents provided by directors to ensure that information presented to public markets is accurate and up-to-date.

BROKERS AND INTERMEDIARIES: We help insurance companies assess their broker and intermediary networks to address operational and regulatory challenges, from fraud and reputational damage through to bribery and corruption and sanctions risks.

MONITORING: We provide a range of managed monitoring services to the financial services sector, turning real-time news feeds into actionable alerts. We use machine learning and natural language processing technology to identify red flag events, analyzing over 5 million articles each day. We help clients stay informed about their customers, counterparties and brokers so they can act early when issues arise.

CYBER SECURITY: We help financial services clients assess their cyber security posture. Our assessments profile an organisation’s risks and provide advice on how to mitigate them. We test the effectiveness of security measures via vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and incident management exercises. We focus on explaining technical issues in simple language so our findings can be understood and acted on throughout an organisation.

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE: We assist clients preparing for and meeting regulatory requirements, such as GDPR and the NYDFS Cyber Security. We help our clients understand where their data is held and provide best practice advice and support for securing it.

https://www.s-rminform.com/sectors/financial-services/

7. Intelect

Intelect company is headquartered on the Isle of Man and has an in depth understanding of what is required for a Customer Due Diligence enquiry. The company offers initial screening to verify name, address, directorships and also provides EDD report

Intelect also offers cyber risk analysis such as

Internet Investigative skills training

Expert online research capability

Data Threat Analysis

Prevention of Corporate Data Breaches

Personal online Security advice and consultancy

Deep & dark web investigations

People tracing

https://www.intelectsolutions.im

8. Globe Detective Agency

India’s leaders in the field of private investigations and security solutions across India, consistently delivering high-quality services since 1961.

The company provides screen and risk analysis of individuals and corporates with the following services in India

Asset Search & Verification

Background Screening

Due Diligence of a Company

Due Diligence of an Individual

Forensic Investigation Services

Insurance Claims investigation

Integrity Check & Post-Employment Verification

Intellectual Property Rights & Infringement of Trade Mark

Litigation Support

Open Source Intelligence

Pre/Post Matrimonial Investigation

Risk Analysis & Mitigation

https://www.globedetective.com

9. Harod Associates

Specialist international law enforcement and due diligence firm Harod Associates provides strategic advice, policy support, governance, risk compliance, audit and training services to both government agencies and public entities in many jurisdictions.

For Governments:

international due diligence

business partner intelligence

AML and money laundering investigations

fraud, embezzlement, misconduct

anti bribery and corruption research

monitoring, enhanced reporting and transparency of third party agents and the supply chain

CBI/RBI industry

value for money know your client (KYC)

verifiable due diligence products presented in a clear, actionable format to facilitate decision making

continuous monitoring, updates and red flag alerts

on going advice/training on international RCBI industry compliance and transparency matters

https://www.harodassociates.com