Patriot Act Compliance

WHAT IS KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER (KYC)?

Section 326 of the Patriot Act deals specifically with the identification of new customers, and made extensive provisions in terms of KYC. As a result, financial institutions are now accountable for the effectiveness of their initial customer identification and ongoing KYC screening.

TARGETS OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

Payment processors and their clients need to make an effort to ensure they are not doing business with individuals or groups, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers, who are the target of economic sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

AVOID FINES AND PENALTIES

The fines for violations can be substantial. Depending on the program, criminal penalties can include fines ranging from $50,000 to $10,000,000 and imprisonment ranging from 10 to 30 years for willful violations. In addition, civil penalties can range from $250,000 or twice the amount of each underlying transaction, to $1,075,000 for each violation.

OFAC SUPPORT OPTIONS

PatriotAgent XG OFAC SCREENING ONLINE PORTAL

Lyons patriotAGENT™ features extensive OFAC screening. Its powerful search engine, combined with an advanced search algorithm, allows you to hone in on exact matches thereby reducing the number of similar matches or false positives. Whether you need to perform single-name searches or import files for review, this comprehensive solution from Lyons Commercial Data will provide you with the flexibility you need to tailor your OFAC compliance strategy.

PatriotAgent WS OFAC WEB SERVICES

For clients looking to incorporate OFAC screening into their own applications, the Lyons OFAC web services provide streamlined access to the three most often used watch lists. Simple methods allow you to submit a name, or country and name, against the Office of Foreign Asset Control Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Denied Person’s list, and the Non-SDN list (NS-PLC), and receive a list of potential matches along with a score, indicating the likelihood of a match.