We support financial institutions navigate the increasingly fluid and challenging sanctions landscape by providing specialised support with UN, EU, U.S., UK and other sanctions regimes. We provide advice across the three lines of defence on issues ranging from policy optimisation to technology deployment and sanctions screening effectiveness.
We understand how the unprecedented regulatory changes brought about by the geopolitical landscape and advancing technology, amongst other factors, can increase the sanctions exposure risk and cost of compliance.
With regulators’ increased use of technology to improve their efficiency in the fight against Financial Crime, and the rise in the cost of compliance, organisations must maintain a balanced approach between effective compliance and a reasonable cost structure.
Global regulators expect firms to have a sound and effective sanction compliance programme that is fit-for-purpose. Firms must demonstrate that they have processes and controls in place to prevent and identify emerging sanctions risks.
We have worked with many firms to help navigate the increasingly complex global regulatory landscape for sanctions. We advise multinational organisations across various sectors using the latest technology on concerns associated with sanctions screening, sanctions investigations and sanctions advisory. Our experts can ensure that firms’ sanctions compliance frameworks are effective, robust and fit-for-purpose.
Our Sanctions Services
Our experts have broader experience across sanctions advisory, sanctions investigations in response to regulatory requirements and sanctions technology uplifting.
The following are examples of areas where our experts can assist:
- Sanctions Investigations: Sanctions Lookback Investigations provide an independent analysis of data to identify potential sanctions breaches or misconduct in response to regulatory action. Leveraging deep subject matter expertise and advanced technology solutions, developed through numerous large and high-profile cases, our capabilities ensure thorough and effective investigations.
- Sanctions Risk & Maturity Assessment: With increasing and evolving regulations, external scrutiny, and personal accountability, we assist in reinforcing firms’ sanctions framework to protect against unknown/hidden risks. Our flexible methodology assesses and tests firms’ end-to-end Sanctions Control Framework against regulatory obligations, expectations and industry standards.
- Sanctions Health Checks and Policy & Procedures Review: Our Sanctions SMEs are equipped to conduct a comprehensive financial crime "Health Check" to identify potential areas for enhancement within the firm’s sanctions screening process. Additionally, we can assist by performing a thorough gap analysis of the firm’s existing policies and procedures, and providing support in their revision and development.
- ISO Advisory: Transaction screening is a key sanctions compliance control impacted by the global payments migration to ISO20022. We have developed deep knowledge and expertise in supporting ISO20022 migration programmes, readiness assessments, mapper implementations/reviews, targeted tuning approaches and alert spike mitigation.
- Sanctions Screening Testing Platform (SSTP): The SSTP is a responsive web application that allows firms to generate bespoke test files in minutes, robustly testing the effectiveness of their sanctions screening system. SSTP further supports periodic testing by firms’ staff and offers flexibility for ad-hoc testing as needed.
- Sanctions Screening Vendor Selection: We can assist your organisation with the vendor selection process for monitoring the end-to-end control environment, covering areas such as name screening, transaction screening, and trade finance. This support can also encompass third-party data enrichment sources.
- Sanctions Alert Review and Dispositioning: We provide a tailored review of sanctions alerts conducted by a team of financial crime SMEs, delivering efficient and cost-effective solutions to reduce backlogs and enhance the confidence in firms’ processes. Our support is customised to align to firms’ internal sanctions discounting policy and risk appetite, enhancing compliance with regulatory requirements. Our services can be further enhanced through the use of advanced technology, as follows:
- Automated Alert Discounting (AAD): Utilises advanced data analytics to automate the discounting of sanctions alerts.
- Sanctions Alert Classifier (SAC): Employs machine learning to process sanctions alerts effectively.
