Security and compliance screening can involve several different types of records. A recruitment check may require a criminal disclosure or police certificate, while a corporate review may involve company records, sanctions, politically exposed persons, regulatory information and adverse media.
Global Screenings supports authorized employment and business screening through relevant national and international sources. The scope is based on the subject, countries involved, purpose of the review and records available in each jurisdiction.
What Security and Compliance Screening Can Cover
This service brings together checks that may be relevant to employment, customer, company, executive, vendor or other authorized screening requirements.
Available checks may include:
- Criminal disclosure and background checks
- Police clearance certificate verification
- Company and director record searches
- Sanctions and global watchlist screening
- Politically exposed person screening
- Electoral register or address-related searches where lawfully accessible
- International media and reputation research
- Regulatory and compliance information
- Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing screening support
- Intellectual property and counterfeiting-related research
The same checks are not available or appropriate in every country. Each search should have a defined purpose and be relevant to the person, company, position or transaction under review.
DBS and Disclosure Checks
The previous version of this page referred to CRB checks. In England and Wales, these are now known as Disclosure and Barring Service, or DBS, checks.
A DBS check may be requested during recruitment where the role and level of check are eligible. The available process may include:
- Basic disclosure checks
- Standard DBS checks for eligible roles
- Enhanced DBS checks for eligible roles
- Barred-list information where the role and applicable requirements allow it
- Identity-document review connected with the application
- Application support through an appropriate registered organization or umbrella body where applicable
The level of disclosure available depends on the position and the applicable eligibility rules. An employer should not request a higher level of check simply because it would prefer more information.
Disclosure checks are country-specific. Scotland, Northern Ireland and jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom use their own processes, authorities and terminology.
Police Clearance Certificates
A police clearance certificate may be required for employment, immigration, professional registration, residence or another official purpose.
Support may include:
- Review of the certificate supplied
- Confirmation of the issuing authority where available
- Review of the subject’s identifying information
- Checking the issue date and stated coverage
- Identifying whether a new or country-specific certificate may be required
- Coordinating related document verification where included in the instruction
Global Screenings does not issue police clearance certificates. Certificates are issued by the relevant police, government or authorized authority.
The application procedure, validity period and information shown on a certificate differ by country. Some authorities require the individual to apply directly, provide fingerprints or submit additional identity documents.
Criminal and Court Record Research
Where lawful and available, security screening may also include criminal or court record research beyond a supplied disclosure certificate.
The review may cover:
- National criminal record searches
- Local, county, state or federal records where applicable
- Civil court records
- Criminal court records
- International criminal history searches
- Relevant watchlists or barred-person records
- Other court or public records included in the approved scope
The search method depends on the jurisdiction. Some records are available online, while others require a direct request, candidate-provided certificate or manual courthouse research.
A name match by itself should not be treated as confirmation that a record belongs to the subject. Available identifiers such as date of birth, address, nationality and jurisdiction should be reviewed before a possible result is treated as relevant.
More focused research is available through Court Records Checks.
Companies House and Corporate Record Searches
For United Kingdom companies, Companies House records can provide useful information about a company’s registration, officers, filings and corporate history.
A Companies House search may include:
- Company name and registration number
- Registered office address
- Date of incorporation
- Current company status
- Current and previous officers
- Filing history
- Available accounts and document images
- Previous company names
- Charges or mortgage information
- Insolvency information
- Disqualified-director information where available
A company’s appearance on the register confirms that a record exists, but it does not by itself prove financial strength, commercial reliability or regulatory compliance.
Where wider company, ownership or financial research is required, the review may be supported through Corporate Data Explore.
Electoral Register and Address-Related Searches
The existing service includes electoral-roll database checks. Where a lawful and accessible source exists, electoral or address-related information may help support identity and residential-history research.
A search may consider:
- Name and address information
- Current or previous residential details
- Available electoral register information
- Other public address records relevant to the authorized purpose
Electoral register access differs between jurisdictions, and some information may be restricted or available only for specific purposes. An electoral record is not proof of continuous residence and should be considered alongside other available address information.
Global Watchlist and Sanctions Screening
Sanctions and watchlist checks may be relevant when reviewing an employee, executive, customer, vendor, company, director, shareholder or other business party.
Available screening may include:
- United States OFAC sanctions lists
- European Union financial sanctions lists
- United Nations Security Council sanctions lists
- Other relevant national or international sanctions sources
- Terrorism-related watchlists where available
- Blocked or prohibited-party searches
- Other regulatory watchlists included in the agreed scope
A sanctions search may produce a possible match because a person or company has a similar name to a listed party. The result should be reviewed against available identifiers, aliases, dates of birth, nationality, addresses and company details before it is treated as relevant.
A no-match result reflects the sources searched at that time. It does not guarantee that the subject has no regulatory, ownership or business risk outside those sources.
Structured sanctions and watchlist checks may also be performed through Global Database Searches.
Politically Exposed Person Screening
A politically exposed person, or PEP, may hold or have held a prominent public function. Depending on the applicable framework, screening may also consider certain family members or close associates.
PEP screening may include:
- Current or former public positions
- Country and government-body information
- Known family or close-associate information where included in the source
- Business affiliations
- Directorships and ownership interests
- Sanctions or watchlist exposure
- Relevant media and public records
PEP status is not proof of misconduct. It is a risk indicator that may require additional review according to the organization’s policies, jurisdiction and purpose of the relationship.
International Media and Reputation Research
Media searches can provide additional context where a matter is not recorded in a structured database or where the subject has business, professional or public activity across several countries.
The research may cover:
- International news sources
- Local-language media
- Business and professional publications
- Regulatory notices
- Litigation or court reporting
- Corporate and public information
- Reputation matters relevant to the assignment
An allegation should remain attributed to the original source. The source, date, identity match and current status should be reviewed before the information is treated as an established fact.
More detailed public reputation and business-interest research is available through Reputation Intelligence.
Business Intelligence and Corporate Integrity
Security and compliance screening may also involve the background of a company, its owners, management or business relationships.
The review may include:
- Company registration and status
- Directors and shareholders
- Ownership and control information
- Business affiliations
- Litigation and judgments
- Regulatory action
- Financial warning information
- Sanctions and PEP exposure
- Media and reputation information
- Conflicts of interest
A routine company search may identify information requiring a broader review through Third-Party Integrity Due Diligence.
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Support
The existing service includes anti-money laundering, or AML, and countering the financing of terrorism, or CFT, screening support.
Depending on the organization and relationship, this may involve:
- Identity and company verification
- Director and shareholder searches
- Ownership and control information
- Sanctions screening
- Politically exposed person screening
- Adverse media searches
- Regulatory and enforcement information
- Other due diligence checks included in the approved scope
AML and CFT obligations vary by country, industry, customer type and transaction. Screening support does not certify that an organization has met every legal or regulatory requirement.
The client remains responsible for its risk assessment, policies, customer acceptance, monitoring, reporting and compliance decisions.
Regulatory Compliance Research
Regulatory searches may identify available information relating to a person, company, professional licence, financial institution or other regulated activity.
The review may include:
- Regulatory registration and status
- Professional licences
- Enforcement actions
- Disqualification or restriction information
- Sanctions and prohibited-party records
- Litigation and public records
- Other regulatory information relevant to the assignment
Regulatory information should be reviewed according to the authority, jurisdiction, date and current status of the matter.
Broader governance, policy and compliance support is available through Regulatory Compliance Support.
Intellectual Property and Counterfeiting Research
The existing page also includes intellectual property rights and counterfeiting-related research. This may be relevant where a company, supplier, distributor or other party is connected with suspected brand misuse or counterfeit activity.
The review may consider:
- Company and ownership information
- Business affiliations
- Trademark or brand-related records
- Online listings and websites
- Litigation or public records
- Media and reputation information
- Other records connected with the authorized inquiry
More focused monitoring and investigation support is available through Global IPR Watch and Brand Protection & Investigations.
Local Courthouse and Source Research
International security screening cannot always be completed through a single global database. Some records remain with local courts, authorities, professional bodies or government offices.
Local or manual research may be required when:
- No complete electronic database exists
- A court record requires direct confirmation
- A police or government certificate must be obtained by the subject
- A possible database match needs source verification
- The information is available only in a local language
- The jurisdiction requires a formal application
- The relevant record is held by a regional or local authority
The expected search method, coverage and completion time should be considered separately for each country and record type.
Reviewing Possible Matches
Security, sanctions and regulatory searches can produce possible matches involving another person or organization with a similar name.
Where available, a result should be compared with:
- Full legal name and aliases
- Date and place of birth
- Nationality
- Current and previous addresses
- Passport or identity details
- Company name and registration number
- Directors, shareholders or ownership information
- The country and source of the record
The report should distinguish between a confirmed match, a possible match, information that could not be verified and a search that returned no available result.
Reporting and Online Access
Where the account and service configuration allow it, screening orders, status information and completed reports may be managed through the E-Screening system.
Online access can help authorized users:
- Submit screening requests
- Review pending and completed orders
- Follow the recorded status of checks
- Access available reports
- Maintain an organized history of screening activity
Online status tracking does not mean that every record is available immediately. Completion depends on the source, jurisdiction, documentation and type of check.
International Coverage and Limitations
Disclosure, criminal, company, sanctions, PEP, electoral, media and regulatory records are maintained differently around the world.
Some information may be:
- Available through an electronic database
- Accessible only through an authorized request
- Available only to the subject
- Restricted to certain employers or roles
- Held by a local authority
- Available only in a local language
- Incomplete, archived or unavailable
A search that returns no result does not necessarily prove that no relevant information exists.
Important Limitations
Global Screenings provides screening, research and verification findings from the agreed scope. The service does not issue government security clearances, police certificates, criminal disclosures, regulatory approvals or legal compliance certifications.
Sanctions, PEP, media and database matches should be reviewed carefully and are not automatically proof of wrongdoing.
Final employment, compliance, customer, vendor, investment and legal decisions remain with the client and its responsible managers and professional advisers.
