Skokie, IL — March 29, 2011 — Accuity, the leading provider of payment routing data, anti-money laundering (AML) screening software and services, has introduced its Middle East Screening Solution that will enable customers to respond quickly and effectively to changing levels of risk associated with political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. This unique set of tools and enhanced data is specifically designed to address rapidly changing political environments.
As unrest spreads throughout the region, today’s “benign” Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) might be the newest additions to one or more sanctions list tomorrow. Standard PEP screening processes may not be suitable for handling this new type of “high risk” PEP and screening frequency and scope might require reevaluation. As a result, firms must be able to address the introduction of new risk into their businesses by laser-focusing their screening efforts without becoming burdened by unrelated false positives.
One unique feature of Accuity’s solution is “microcategorization”, which allows users to drill down on screening results by a wide range of factors, including country, the date PEPs left their political position and level of political exposure. These settings let users change screening focus in lock-step with changing risks.
The database that powers the solution features the world’s largest collection of PEPs, negative news and other high-risk entities, searchable by region and risk level to maximize effectiveness. The data is further enhanced with thousands of unique identifiers for added protection against sanctioned entities, including bank subsidiary addresses and BIC codes for every sanctioned bank, up-to-date vessel information, comprehensive payment routing data, extended profiles on family members and known associates and more. As an example, Accuity’s data includes over 200 enhancement records related to OFAC’s Libyan sanctions program. Enhancements include Libyan government officials, aliases, Libyan government agencies and banks owned or controlled by the Libyan Government that meet OFAC’s sanctions requirements, which involve over 120 BICs that are not on the SDN list. Accuity’s synonym table includes 84 spelling variations of the name “QADHAFI”/“GADDAFI” to ensure proper matching regardless of how the name is spelled in a transaction or account record. When combined with the solution’s scalable filter, these powerful data enhancements enable organizations to reduce exposure to risk associated with the political situation in targeted countries.
“In the face of a rapidly changing political landscape, it’s critical for firms to have the most comprehensive data and flexible solutions to ensure the highest levels of protection,” said Hugh Jones, Accuity’s President and CEO. “Accuity is committed to helping our customers focus on those areas that present the greatest risk to their businesses, no matter the situation or the speed at which information changes.”