cmpliance

Adverse media screening

Adverse media screening that shows the chain.

A search can return a name. A defensible review must establish who the report concerns, why it matters, how it connects to the customer, which evidence supports it, what remains unresolved, and who made the final decision.

Get early access How it works
Agents prepareAdverse media check
  • Web searchScreening agentDirector of the parent · 1 result
  • TopicClassification agentRegulatory fine
  • SourceEvidence agentLink · snippet · date
A human decides

Result prepared; the officer sees the link, the topic and how the director connects to the customer.

MFM. FischerAwaiting decision
EscalateRequest information
the record keepsthe search, the result and the officer’s reason

How it works

Search every party on file. Keep the source. Record what failed. Decide each hit. Keep the history.

  1. 01Search
    SubjectTrading company
    PartiesParent · director
    Due diligenceEnhanced

    Submit the customer and its parties. At standard and enhanced due diligence, cmpliance runs one web search for each party with a record on file, using the party's name and terms such as fraud, money laundering and sanctions. A party it cannot search is shown as not searched, and the case waits for a person.

  2. 02Keep the source
    Result
    TopicRegulatory fine
    SourceLink · snippet · date

    Results whose title or snippet carries a screening term are kept with their link, snippet and date when there is one, and tagged by topic from the title and snippet.

  3. 03Record
    SearchAnswered
    Parties skippedNone
    Recorded as clearOnly if answered

    A search that fails or returns an unreadable answer is recorded as such, never as clear, and the case waits for a person.

  4. 04Decide
    Your call
    EscalateClear
    Escalated · reason on fileOfficer · M. Fischer

    Your officer clears, confirms or escalates each hit with a reason, and can open an information request on the case.

  5. 05Keep the history
    Hit history
    HitAM-2026-0431
    EventsCreated · escalated
    ApprovalBlocked while open
    Export PDF

    Open hits block approval unless residual risk is accepted on the record, and approval comes from a checker or the MLRO. Each disposition stays in the hit's history with who made it and why.

The product

One adverse-media item, from source to escalation

An officer in cmpliance follows an adverse-media item from the source record to an information request and an escalation, with the reasoning kept on the case.

Video · 1:35Reviewing an adverse-media item in cmpliance

The review

What should adverse-media screening establish?

Before a finding changes a customer decision, a useful review answers five questions.

One resultDirector of the parent · regulatory fine
  1. Which people and companies were searched: the customer and the parties with a record on file.Screening agentQuestion for your officerDone ·SubjectParentDirectorone search each
  2. What each result says, sorted into topics from its title and snippet.Classification agentQuestion for your officerDone ·Regulatory finefrom title and snippet
  3. Where each result came from: the name searched, the time and the link.Evidence agentQuestion for your officerDone ·NameTimeLinkkept with the result
  4. How the party connects to the customer.Evidence agentQuestion for your officerDone ·DirectorParentrole on file
  5. Whether the report concerns your customer, whether it matters, and what follows.Your callM. Fischer

A match list: open questions for your officer.

cmpliance: source and context prepared, ready for your officer’s decision.

The scope

Policy, guidance and the search

There is no universal zero-tolerance approach to negative-news screening.

Your policy

Your risk policy decides which parties are in scope and which topics are material, and your officer applies it to what the search returns.

The guidance

The EBA's money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk-factor guidelines tell firms to consider the quality and independence of the source and the persistence of reporting when judging allegations.

The search

Web search results change over time, and search engines are not complete news databases.

The officer decides what the finding changes, and the reason stays on the record.

The record

A name match is not a decision

A result says a web page matched a name and words such as fraud or a regulatory fine. The decision rests on more: what was searched and when, whether the search answered, what the result says, how the party connects to the customer, and the officer's reason.

A result says a web page matched a name and words such as fraud or a regulatory fine.

Possible adverse media
The record keepsAM-2026-0431
  • The searchQuery · time · answer
  • The resultLink · snippet · topic
  • The connectionDirector of the parent
  • The dispositionOfficer · reason
Key takeawaysIntake lifecycle
  1. A search result is a lead, not a source record.
  2. No result does not prove that no adverse media exists.
  3. The human decides what the finding changes.

Insights

Related reading

Common questions

Which sources does cmpliance search?

One web search for each party with a record on file, when a case is assessed, with the party's name and terms such as fraud, money laundering and sanctions.

Does cmpliance decide whether a report concerns my customer?

No. Results are tagged by topic from their title and snippet, and an allegation in a result stays an allegation. Whether a report concerns your customer, and whether it matters, is your officer's call.

Does no result mean the party is clear?

No. No result does not prove that no adverse media exists. The record shows what was searched, when, and whether the search answered.

What happens when the search fails?

The search is recorded as failed or unavailable, never as clear. The case waits for a person, who goes on with the gap on record or escalates it.

Who can clear a hit?

A compliance officer, logged in, with a reason. Administrators and API keys cannot.

Bring us the case your current screening cannot explain.

Get early access