Research notes · Scrutinex
Practical guidance on how to verify a counterparty properly, what sanctions screening tools actually cover, and where small businesses get caught out.
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Scrutinex publishes practical guidance on counterparty verification, sanctions screening, KYB checks and responsible use of public-record research. Start with a method note below, or read how a report is produced before you order.
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Counterparty research
A new bank account on a familiar invoice deserves a fresh check. Here is how to verify the request, investigate a different beneficiary, and document your decision.
23 October 2026
10 October 2026
Understand the difference between source of funds and source of wealth, what evidence supports each claim, and which red flags require deeper due diligence.
10 October 2026
Learn how to run an adverse media check on a company or business partner, assess source credibility, resolve identity matches, and document the decision.
2 October 2026
A sanctions alert is a lead, not a conclusion. Compare names, identifiers and ownership before clearing or confirming a potential match.
2 October 2026
Learn how to trace an African company's ownership chain to real people, verify control and document the gaps before you pay, invest or sign.
17 September 2026
A practical guide for former public officials: what to look for in a self-check report, how to read its findings, and what a bank must assess for itself.
17 September 2026
A working checklist for African procurement teams reviewing bidders, ownership, sanctions matches, and donor debarment before award and payment.
6 September 2026
Verification carried out after a public commitment can only manage the fallout. This is what to establish about a counterparty while refusing to sign is still an option.
6 September 2026
The three sanctions lists that matter most are all free to search, and you can check yourself in about fifteen minutes. The harder part is interpreting what a partial name match actually means.
6 September 2026
A PEP flag is a routing decision inside a bank's compliance process, not a judgement about you. Knowing what it triggers makes the delay easier to manage.
6 September 2026
The classification says something about the role you held, not about your conduct. The problem is that the record describing that role is often wrong, and you are the last to know.
6 September 2026
A memorandum is not binding in the way a contract is, which is precisely why it gets signed before anyone has checked. Here is the sequence that fits in the time available.
6 September 2026
Ghana's registry is well organised and reachable. The checks that matter take a day, and they belong before the deposit rather than after it.
6 September 2026
There is no global expiry date. The standard is risk-based, national rules differ, and individual banks apply their own minimum periods on top.
6 September 2026
Applications from former officials succeed or stall on the quality of the file. This is what to have ready before the first meeting.
6 September 2026
A former minister on a board is a normal and often valuable appointment. The verification work is about documenting the position properly, not about excluding the candidate.
6 September 2026
A concession hands a private party control of a public asset for twenty or thirty years. The verification standard should match the term, not the timetable.
6 September 2026
Liberia runs a domestic business registry and, separately, a large international corporate and maritime registry. Confusing the two is the most common mistake buyers make.
6 September 2026
Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission holds the register, including beneficial ownership data introduced under CAMA 2020. Knowing what to request is most of the work.
6 September 2026
Registry coverage across Africa ranges from a free online search to a counter visit in the capital. This guide sets out what each type of record proves and what has to be verified another way.
6 September 2026
Sierra Leone's registry offers an online business name search and a counter-based registration process. Here is what each part covers and where it stops.
6 September 2026
PEP status is a risk category applied by banks, not a finding against you. Here is what it covers, who it reaches, and how a former official can establish their own position before a bank does it for them.
6 September 2026
A necessary note before anything else: this is not a claim that any company here has done anything wrong. It's a live example of a much narrower, and completely separate, question: when should due diligence happen relative to a signature?
6 September 2026
Being a PEP isn't an accusation. It's a status that changes how much scrutiny a relationship needs, and skipping that scrutiny is the actual risk.
6 September 2026
The FCA's AML requirements are a full regulatory program, not a checklist a single report can satisfy. Here's what's actually required, and where screening fits within it.
6 September 2026
Some businesses are legally required to run a formal AML program. Most aren't, but still deal with the same risks. Here's the actual distinction, and what to do on each side of it.
6 September 2026
The word "embargo" dates to 1807. The mechanics that actually catch businesses today look very different, and far more specific.
6 September 2026
Bear Stearns had capital on its books the week it collapsed. What it didn't have was counterparties still willing to trust it. That distinction is the actual lesson.
6 September 2026
KYC guidance is written for banks with dedicated compliance departments. Most businesses that need it have neither the department nor the budget. Here's what actually works instead.
6 September 2026
Sanctions screening options range from free government lookups to enterprise compliance platforms. Here's how to tell which one actually fits a specific decision.
6 September 2026
A working website and a professional-looking invoice don't confirm a business is real. Here's what actually does.
6 September 2026
"Counterparty verification" sounds like bank jargon. In practice it answers one plain question fast: is this the person or company they claim to be?
6 September 2026
Most AML screening is sold as a subscription. If you need to check five counterparties a year, not five hundred, that pricing model doesn't fit, and there's a real alternative.
5 September 2026
Search for "due diligence cost" and you'll find quotes in the hundreds of thousands. Most people asking the question don't need that. Here's why the range is so wide, and where you likely fall in it.
3 September 2026
The signature is already on the document. What happens next determines how much further damage a fraudulent counterparty can do with it.
3 September 2026
The vulnerability isn't a lack of intelligence in a new administration. It's a specific, temporary set of conditions that fraudulent pitches are built to exploit.
3 September 2026
Most fraudulent pitches share the same handful of features. None of them proves fraud alone. Together, they're the pattern worth recognizing before a signature, not after.
3 September 2026
A newly elected government wants results early. An unfamiliar investor arrives with a fund, a number in the billions, and a request to sign quickly. The pattern repeats often enough to have a shape.
1 September 2026
The pitch is polished, the fund size sounds real, and the timeline is tight. The claims themselves are what need checking, not the confidence they're delivered with.
1 September 2026
A version of this pitch crossed my desk regularly during a decade in senior Liberian government roles. It rarely got easier to evaluate under the timeline the investor wanted.
1 September 2026
The price looked good, the samples looked fine, and the company has a working website. None of that tells you whether the business behind it is real.
30 August 2026
Counterparty risk in public-sector work is specific: authority to sign, sanctions exposure, and the politically exposed person question.
27 August 2026
Know Your Business checks were built for regulated onboarding. Here is what they confirm, and the gaps a buyer still has to close.
22 August 2026
A working checklist for small businesses vetting a supplier or contractor without a compliance department.
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