Los Angeles and London – 6 January 2021. Kharon, the research, and data analytics company focused on security threats and other controversies that impact global commerce and finance, and Accuity, the leading global provider of financial crime screening, payment services and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions, today announced a partnership that aims to allow organizations to better manage sanctions-related risk in their customer and transaction screening operations.
With this partnership, Kharon sanctions-related risk data can now be used with the Firco suite of financial crime screening solutions from Accuity. Firco users can leverage Kharon data to add greater depth to sanctions-related risk coverage, including majority-owned subsidiaries of sanctioned actors (Kharon 50 Plus), minority-owned subsidiaries of sanctioned actors, entities controlled or led by sanctioned actors, and other risk typologies. This combination seeks to improve screening accuracy and easily adjust to specific risk policies.
According to the recently released Accuity Sanctions Pulse, the global economic sanctions landscape was especially active during the third quarter of 2020 as regulators continued to impose sanctions across a number of issues. Screening against majority-owned subsidiaries of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), European Union, and United Nations-sanctioned firms have increasingly become industry standard, but the steady expansion of companies and individuals placed on sanctions lists has made it increasingly important to keep pace with the changes and make the necessary adjustments to data and systems.
Vincent Gaudel, Sanctions Expert at Accuity, exclusively told TFG: “In 2020, governments continued to make dynamic use of sanctions as a response to lasting international issues. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic which caused major disruptions to the global economy, regulators have continued to adjust their sanctions targets, adding, updating, and removing hundreds of entities from their lists throughout the year. 2021 could be just as changeable, as significant political events like the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union and the change of American administration could trigger shifts in sanctions policies. What will not change however are the prospects for heavy fines and reputational damage for those organizations that fail to cope with the fluctuating sanctions lists and lack the adequate tools and data for detecting exposure to sanctioned parties, activities, or jurisdictions.”
Victoria Lumb, SVP of Sales, Kharon said: “The ability to efficiently and effectively screen customers, commercial partners, and transactions for sanctions-related risk is critical in any control framework. We are extremely pleased that by collaborating with Accuity customers can better manage operations and risk management challenges that will deliver cost savings and regulatory assurance.”
Franck Lanher, Vice President, Partnerships, Accuity, said: “Sanctions compliance practitioners need fast access to accurate data and sophisticated screening technology to help manage their compliance programs. Our partnership with Kharon aims to help organizations address the expanding scope of sanctions requirements while tempering compliance costs, preparing for regulatory scrutiny, and avoiding unnecessary penalties.”
