Adverse Media Screening
Adverse media screening is the checking of a customer, owner, or counterparty against negative news sources: reports of fraud, regulatory action, sanctions, or criminal association. It supplements formal list screening by catching risk that has surfaced publicly but not yet reached an official list.
A single unaddressed adverse-media hit on a beneficial owner can stall or reverse an onboarding decision, since a bank will not knowingly take reputational risk. Running adverse-media checks on your own structure before you apply lets you explain any hit on your terms rather than have it surface mid-review.
Sanctions screening is the checking of customers, counterparties, and transactions against government and international sanctions lists, such as those maintained by the UN, EU, OFAC, and the UK.
A Politically Exposed Person is an individual entrusted with a prominent public function, along with their close associates and family, who therefore carries a higher risk of bribery or corruption.
An Ultimate Beneficial Owner is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, typically defined as holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercising control.
Enhanced Due Diligence is the deeper set of checks a firm applies to higher-risk customers: politically exposed persons, high-value clients, or those in high-risk jurisdictions.