Adverse Media Screening

Adverse Media Screening is a core element of a well-structured AML process, through which an onboarding user is screened for negative news mentions in multiple reference sources. By unfavorable news, we mean information based on credible media reports or official press releases (e.g. courts, law enforcement and regulatory watchlists etc.). It generally refers to accounts of convictions, ongoing investigations or alleged involvement in FATF-related offenses (e.g. money laundering, corruption), sanctions exposure, and other unlawful activity.

As a general rule, adverse media screening programs are set to detect sources involving the FATF’s list of predicate offenses (e.g. corruption, narcotics trafficking, fraud, tax evasion etc.). Considering its accessory nature, money laundering requires the practice of a previous crime to generate illegal financial proceeds to be disguised and posteriorly integrated into the legitimate financial system.

Through the deployment of a software solution, the open-source web is screened for results matching the onboarding user’s name and date of birth plus its possible variations. While the collection of sources will be primarily carried out by the software, the filtering of such information will be our operators’ responsibility, and cautious steps are taken to ensure the reliability of our assessments on whether to approve or not an onboarding user by distinguishing between trustworthy and untrustworthy data sources.