From self-service AI reports delivered instantaneously to deep investigative intelligence by expert analysts when risk demands it – Neotas delivers enhanced due diligence services for investment, compliance, and third-party risk teams worldwide.
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AI-powered self-service enhanced due diligence reports delivered instantaneously. No queues. No wait times. Full transparency on every data source.
Expert analyst-led enhanced due diligence investigations. Delivered in days. Available at three levels, from rapid risk snapshots to full investigative deep-dives.
High-level risk overview from multiple sources, including premium risk databases, adverse media, internet searches, and social media.
In-depth analysis of ownership, sanctions, PEP, all types of media, reputational, integrity, legal, and regulatory risk.
Investigative deep-dive intelligence that extends beyond the subject to reveal the hidden risks through associations, networks, and connections.
Neotas enhanced due diligence services cover every decision point: pre-investment screening, third-party risk, AML compliance, executive vetting, M&A, and regulatory submissions across 200+ jurisdictions.
Pre-investment intelligence on founders, management, and targets. Identify hidden risks before capital is deployed.
Deep-dive intelligence on fund managers and service providers.
Validate partners, vendors, and intermediaries. Uncover UBO structures, sanctions exposure, and reputational risks.
Background intelligence on C-suite and senior hires. Identify reputational, behavioural, and hidden risks, and ensure they meet fit and proper standards before hiring.
Due diligence aligned to AML, FCA, FCPA, and global standards. Deliver audit-ready reports for regulatory submission.
Targeted intelligence for deals, acquisitions, and supply chains. Strengthen deal confidence with deep risk insights.
The Neotas automated enhanced due diligence platform converts subject input into a structured, RAG-classified EDD report in seconds — with every data source cited and a full audit trail from first search to final output.
AI triangulates and validates seed data to confirm the correct subject, eliminate false positives, and remove duplicate records before the report is generated.
Surface web, deep web, social media, and archived content searched simultaneously. Behavioural footprints, undisclosed aliases, and platform-specific risk signals surfaced that partial searches miss.
AI-driven risk categorisation against global PEP lists, sanctions databases, and adverse media sources across 200+ jurisdictions — structured findings with source citations, not raw noise.
Corporate registry and beneficial ownership analysis across 200+ jurisdictions in a single engine — entity mapping, directorship history, and ownership chain tracing at scale.
Tamper-proof, regulator-ready documentation from the first search — every source cited, every step logged. Reports can be edited and exported as PDFs by your team before submission.
The risks that cost reputations are rarely in a database. They show up in digital behaviour, online conduct, and undisclosed associations. Neotas surfaces them through OSINT-native intelligence that goes well beyond structured data.
Digital footprints, online conduct, undisclosed aliases, and behavioural red flags across platforms — surfaced automatically. Goes beyond structured databases into the unindexed web where real risk signals live.
Proprietary technology reveals hidden associations and beneficial ownership chains that structured databases cannot map. Entity relationships visualised across your entire subject universe.
Reputational risk detected through online conduct, attitude, and digital behaviour — the layer no structured database can provide. Analyst validation ensures materiality and defensible escalation rationale.
Regional adverse media surfaced in native language, not machine translation – analysts read findings across 30+ languages.
When automated intelligence is not enough – for M&A, investment due diligence, executive screening, or complex counterparty risk – Neotas deploys its full investigative capability. Expert-led. Board-ready. Delivered faster than any other enhanced due diligence provider.
Expert analysts validate risks and deliver board-ready, defensible conclusions – structured for regulatory review, investment committee, or senior decision-making. Includes executive summary and risk rating rationale.
Subject mentions, leaked data, and illicit associations monitored across deep web & archived sources in 200+ jurisdictions. Social media behavioural analysis included at all investigative levels.
Entity overview, ownership analysis, and multilingual source review conducted simultaneously across all relevant jurisdictions. No sequential queuing – 200+ jurisdictions searched in parallel.
Scope alignment call before the investigation begins. Comprehensive risk walkthrough with the lead analyst upon delivery – including an interactive dashboard for portfolio-level clients.
Inline source references, clickable evidence cards, and tamper-proof documentation – ready for regulator submission without reformatting. Full audit trail from search to conclusion.
Risk doesn’t stop at the point of an EDD report. Neotas monitors every subject continuously – alerting your team the moment sanctions change, adverse media appears, or ownership structures shift. Available as an add-on to both automated and investigative enhanced due diligence reports.
Tracks sanctions changes, adverse media developments, corporate structure changes, and behavioural shifts — continuously after initial report delivery. Applies to both automated and investigative report subjects.
Set daily, weekly, or monthly monitoring cadence per risk tier. Your team is alerted at the right frequency for each subject with high-risks escalated immediately.
Hot spots, concentration risk, and regulatory exposure surfaced in one live view across your entire subject universe. Always-on visibility without manual review cycles.
Continuous intelligence integrated directly into your CRM, GRC, ERP or case management system via secure API. No manual data transfer, no reporting lag.
Whether you need an automated EDD report in seconds or a full investigative enhanced due diligence report in days, Neotas delivers the right depth at every level of risk. Every report is audit-ready, regulator-trusted, and formatted for submission.
Reimagine Enhanced Due Diligence with Confidence
Practical guides, checklists, and frameworks built by Neotas risk analysts. Use them to run your own enhanced due diligence process or hand the investigation to our team for a full intelligence-grade report.
The difference between a surface-level check and a Neotas investigation is the difference between assumed safety and evidenced confidence.
Discover how Neotas simplifies enhanced due diligence at scale.
Neotas EDD software runs in 2 modes.
Automated platform generates a RAG-classified EDD report in seconds from subject input, with PEP and sanctions screening, adverse media, UBO analysis, and a full audit trail. Reports are editable and PDF-exportable. The platform supports your own AI model so you’re not locked to a single provider.
Investigative platform connects to the Neotas analyst team, who add analyst-validated findings, network mapping, board-ready narrative reports, and a delivery call with the lead analyst.
Both modes include regulatory-ready documentation and API integration into your CRM, GRC, or case management system. Neotas was named Chartis FCC50 Market Disruptor 2026, winning Know Your Third Party and Supply Chain Excellence.
Standard EDD providers run structured database checks. Google and standard databases index roughly 4 to 6% of the open internet.
Neotas searches 600bn+ archived web pages, 1.8bn+ court records, 198M+ corporate records, and 40,000+ global media sources, plus social media, deep web, and dark web monitoring. Every finding is analyst-validated before inclusion. False positives are removed automatically by AI triangulation before the report generates.
Reports are editable, PDF-exportable, and formatted for regulatory submission without reformatting. The platform covers 30+ native languages, so adverse media in Arabic, Mandarin, or Russian isn’t lost in poor machine translation. For private equity-specific outcomes, see our private equity due diligence checklist.
Yes, provided the EDD process meets each framework’s evidentiary standards.
Neotas reports include a tamper-proof audit trail, inline source citations, and a documented risk classification rationale, formatted for regulatory examination without reformatting. All operations are ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certified. For the full cost of getting this wrong, read our guide to the consequences of not conducting enhanced due diligence.
Enhanced due diligence is an in-depth investigation applied to individuals, entities, and transactions that carry elevated financial crime risk. It goes beyond standard customer due diligence (CDD) by requiring source of funds verification, full beneficial ownership mapping, PEP and sanctions screening, multilingual adverse media research, and ongoing monitoring.
EDD is a legal obligation under FATF Recommendation 10, the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), FinCEN’s Customer Due Diligence Rule (31 CFR 1020.210), UK Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (Regulation 33), and EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives. Regulated firms that don’t apply EDD where required face regulatory penalties, loss of licences, and in serious cases, criminal liability.
The enhanced due diligence process runs through six steps:
Each step requires documented, verifiable evidence. Regulators don’t accept informal checks. The depth of each step should reflect the specific risk factors present, and the process concludes with a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) risk classification and a documented rationale for the decision.
EDD is required when a customer or transaction presents elevated financial crime risk that standard CDD cannot adequately address. Under FinCEN’s CDD Rule and the Bank Secrecy Act, EDD is mandatory when:
EDD can also trigger mid-relationship when transaction behaviour shifts or ownership structures change. See the full framework in our guide to steps involved in conducting enhanced due diligence.
The key attributes of enhanced due diligence distinguish it from standard CDD in four ways:
A fifth attribute regulators increasingly expect is proportionality, the depth of EDD must scale with the assessed risk level of the subject.
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) is the standard identity verification and risk assessment applied at onboarding. EDD applies on top of CDD when the risk level warrants it.
The three tiers are Simplified Due Diligence for low-risk cases, standard CDD, and EDD for high-risk subjects. For a full breakdown of all types, see our due diligence guide.
Enhanced customer due diligence (ECDD) and enhanced due diligence (EDD) refer to the same process. ECDD is the term used specifically in customer-facing contexts: banks, payment providers, and regulated entities applying deeper scrutiny at the customer level.
Both require source of funds verification, full UBO mapping, PEP and sanctions screening, multilingual adverse media, and a documented ongoing monitoring plan with senior management sign-off. ECDD focuses on the customer relationship; EDD can apply more broadly to third parties, counterparties, or investigative subjects. The triggering conditions and evidentiary standards are identical.
In KYC and AML compliance, enhanced due diligence is the deepest level of customer investigation required for high-risk relationships. It sits at the top of the three-tier framework, above Simplified Due Diligence and standard CDD.
For AML purposes, EDD directly addresses the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, and sanctions evasion. Under FinCEN’s CDD Rule, US financial institutions must apply EDD to customers presenting elevated risk across all five CDD pillars: identification, beneficial ownership, business relationship understanding, ongoing monitoring, and suspicious activity detection.
Three scenarios cover the most common EDD use cases.
Private equity pre-investment: A PE fund considering a stake in a Central Asian business commissions EDD on founders and ownership structure. The investigation uncovers a directorship link to a sanctioned entity through a nominee structure, something missed entirely by structured database checks.
Bank onboarding a PEP: A new corporate customer’s director holds a ministerial role in a FATF greylist country. EDD covers source of wealth, political connections, and adverse media across regional Arabic-language sources.
FCPA third-party compliance: A US pharma company conducts EDD on a distribution intermediary in Southeast Asia, covering government connections, political donation history, and litigation across 3 jurisdictions.
Read specific client outcomes in our enhanced due diligence case studies.
Read our guide on Simplified Due Diligence (SDD) vs Customer Due Diligence (CDD) vs Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) to understand the due diligence process and when EDD is appropriate.
EDD is required for customers meeting one or more of these risk criteria:
FinCEN expects EDD programmes detailed enough to “distinguish between significant variations in customer risk.” Read our full guide on enhanced due diligence for high-risk customers.
Our clients include financial institutions, law firms, corporates, private equity firms, and public-sector bodies requiring in-depth intelligence for hiring, investment, M&A, third-party risk, or regulatory compliance.
A Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is someone who holds or has held a prominent public position that creates opportunity for money laundering or corruption. The FATF definition covers heads of state, senior politicians, government and judicial officials, military officers, senior executives of state-owned enterprises, and senior political party officials, plus their immediate family members and close associates.
PEPs trigger mandatory EDD under FATF Recommendation 12 and US BSA/AML guidance. If a customer becomes a PEP during the relationship, EDD must be applied at that point. Former PEPs typically remain subject to enhanced scrutiny for 12 to 18 months after leaving office. Download the full framework in our enhanced due diligence checklist.
In banking, enhanced due diligence is the deepest customer screening level under a bank’s AML and KYC programme. US banks apply EDD under the Bank Secrecy Act, FinCEN’s CDD Rule, and FATF guidance. The FFIEC’s BSA/AML Examination Manual specifies EDD requirements for correspondent banking, private banking for non-US persons, and relationships with customers in high-risk jurisdictions.
Regulators increasingly expect banks to go beyond database screening into OSINT, social media, and archival sources. Penalties for EDD failures are significant: in 2022, a major European bank paid $1.3bn in fines partly due to EDD failures on high-risk correspondent banking relationships. For a full overview of the AML requirements banking EDD must meet, read our anti-money laundering guide.
A Neotas EDD report includes:
Reports are editable and PDF-exportable before regulatory submission.
UBO analysis in EDD identifies the natural persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity, beyond nominee directors, bearer shares, and layered holding structures. Under FinCEN’s CDD Rule, US financial institutions must identify and verify UBOs who directly or indirectly own 25% or more of a legal entity customer.
EDD extends this further: investigating all controlling persons regardless of ownership percentage, verifying ownership through independent sources rather than self-certification, and cross-referencing UBO identities against sanctions lists, adverse media, and corporate registry data across 200+ jurisdictions.
EDD disrupts money laundering at each of its three stages:
Adverse media screening across archived and multilingual sources surfaces criminal links that structured databases miss entirely. FATF estimates less than 1% of illicit funds are seized globally each year, which is why FATF Recommendation 10 makes EDD a mandatory legal obligation rather than a best practice.
Continuous monitoring means tracking a subject’s risk profile after the initial EDD report and alerting your team when material changes occur. The FCA and FinCEN are clear that EDD doesn’t end at onboarding: the obligation continues throughout the entire business relationship.
Changes that trigger re-assessment include new sanctions matches, adverse media on the subject or associated entities, changes in corporate structure or beneficial ownership, significant shifts in transaction behaviour, and new PEP status.
Neotas continuous EDD monitoring tracks all these signals post-report, with configurable alert frequency by risk tier and immediate escalation for high-risk subjects. The portfolio dashboard shows concentration risk across all active subjects and integrates via API into your CRM or GRC system.
An enhanced due diligence questionnaire (EDDQ) is a structured document used to collect additional information directly from a high-risk subject. It goes beyond a standard KYC form by requesting:
The EDDQ is one input into the EDD process, not the process itself. Regulators expect firms to independently verify all disclosed information rather than rely on self-declaration. For the vendor-specific version, see our vendor due diligence checklist and questionnaire.
The time depends on the report type and the complexity of the subject.
Automated EDD reports are generated in seconds from subject input: name, jurisdiction, and known identifiers produce a structured, RAG-classified report with full source citations.
Investigative EDD reports take longer because expert analysts validate and contextualise every finding:
Expedited delivery is available for urgent requirements. See how we approach management due diligence investigations for a sense of depth and speed.
