The challenge
Businesses can no longer claim ignorance about who their customers are. They have legal, ethical, and contractual duties to know, and regulators across Europe, the United States, and Asia Pacific are stepping up enforcement.
Our client carries out these checks as part of its compliance work. Before working with us, each check was pieced together by hand from public websites, search engines, and other sources. Starting from a named person or company, staff traced connections at least three steps out and searched each of those in turn. A single check took four to six hours, and well-known organizations, with more coverage to sift through, took longer still.
The staff were diligent and careful. The problem was method. Each person built their own approach for every check, so results varied from one analyst to the next and the time cost was hard to control.
What we built
Progentic AI built an AI research system connected to UK regulatory bodies, reputable news sources, and the sanctions lists published by the UK, United States, European Union, and other recognized governments.
A user submits a request for a person or organization. In about 15 minutes, the system searches hundreds of sources across at least seven years of history. It covers the subject along with known associates, directors, and officers, and returns findings on PEP status, sanctions, adverse media, national and international registrations, and regulatory findings.
A trained analyst still reviews the findings and signs off on every check. The system does the searching and gathering, which frees the analyst to spend their time on judgment.
The results
A check that took four to six hours now takes about 15 minutes, with an analyst reviewing and signing off on the findings. Every check follows the same method and covers the same ground, so results are consistent no matter who runs them. The research also goes further than before, both in the number of sources and in how far back it looks.
The time saved has let the client scale up and offer these checks as a service to its own customers.
After launch, the engagement moved to a monthly retainer. Progentic AI provides ongoing support and keeps improving the system as regulations, sources, and the client’s needs change.