Jinfo: Lexis Diligence: Holding hands with Big Brother

Lexis Diligence: Holding hands with Big Brother
Jinfo Blog

14th July 2011

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I do not envy risk management or compliance departments these days. Not only is there the worry of fraud and corruption at the expense of your company, but governments are placing tighter controls in the form of various regulations (see the UK Bribery Act of 2010 ) aimed at not only deterring fraud, but making sure a company strictly follows these lines of defence.

Those especially in the insurance, banking and financial service industries are responsible for following pages of governmental guidelines, all the while leaving a noted paper trail suitable for a surprise audit at any time. I can’t even keep track of my simple receipts, which is why I have my accountant on speed dial.

A company may be wise to have Lexis Diligence on speed dial. One of several offerings from NexisLexis in the Risk and Compliance area, Lexis Diligence is especially targeted at the UK, Western Europe and other countries outside of the US. The database is considered especially expert at providing intelligence on high risk markets.

Within one very simple platform, you will find legal documents, international news from 19 countries, country risk reports , politically exposed people (PEP) lists and over 750 sanctions and watch lists, amongst a great deal of other content.

I especially find a couple of components very interesting. Negative News is a search option that allows you to use, or edit, a long list of pre-defined negative search terms. Examples of some of the juicy terms include variations of deprave, embezzle, inside deal, kickback, nefarious, trafficking and violate. Although I thought for a moment that I was just reading the outcome of the latest political elections, these terms in actuality help to focus a search and disclose the very bad things about a person, company or country.

Another feature I liked was the option to add a note or comment at various points in the search and report creation processes. This would be wonderful documentation to have when Mr Government Regulator starts asking pointed questions, and thanks to Lexis Diligence, you and your risk management brethren will have pointed answers.

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