ATLANTIC CITY, NJ--(Marketwired - Jul 22, 2015) - In response to the global effort to combat anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing, two firms with worldwide experience in the banking industry, investigations, and regulatory compliance have joined forces to provide a comprehensive suite of high-level customer anti-money-laundering due diligence services for companies seeking to employ individuals, enter into business partnerships or ascertain the sources of funds.
The firms are Leech Tishman, a leading law firm dedicated to providing full-service commercial legal services, and Spectrum-i, a global leader in comprehensive, multi-sourced, due diligence reporting for the purposes of fraud prevention/detection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance.
The need for companies to know their customers and to mitigate the risks of being unwitting participants in money laundering has never been greater. According to the Financial Action Task Force, a 2009 estimate of the extent of money laundering put it at a staggering 2.7 percent of the world's gross domestic product (or $1.6 trillion). Money laundering activities have only increased in volume.
Among other global efforts, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has embarked on an aggressive anti-money-laundering agenda, and less than two months ago the European Parliament adopted new rules to help fight money laundering and terrorist financing in the EU. They are just two entities among many global bodies urging business organizations to "know your customer."
"The national and international regulatory world has responded aggressively to the very real threat of money-laundering and terrorist financing. As a result, banks, financial institutions, casinos, real estate companies, and other high-risk industries are being held to a higher standard in terms of understanding where their clients' money comes from," explains Laurel Brandstetter, Counsel with Leech Tishman.
"The financial and legal risks of doing business with individuals or entities without first having conducted thorough due diligence are tremendous. Leech Tishman and Spectrum-i are poised to apply our combined depth of legal experience and knowledge of long-term investigations to assist our clients in making important business decisions," said Fredric Gushin, Managing Director of Spectrum-i.
Clients who need to identify high-risk customers benefit from the individual strengths of Spectrum-i's comprehensive research and identification of risk and while complying with national and international regulations and maintaining valuable attorney-client privileges as provided by Leech Tishman.
To discuss how the Leech Tishman/Spectrum-i team can assist your business in making confident decisions, please contact us:
- Laurel Brandstetter, Counsel, Leech Tishman: (412) 261-1600 or lbrandstetter@leechtishman.com
- Adrienne Lodge, Client Relations Manager, Spectrum-i: (215) 367-5776 or alodge@spectrum-i.net
About Leech Tishman: Leech Tishman is a law firm that distinguishes itself by its reputation of being business-minded professionals who practice law. Leech Tishman offers legal services in alternative dispute resolution, bankruptcy & creditors' rights, construction, corporate, internal investigations, employment, energy, environmental, safety & toxic torts, estates & trusts, government relations, immigration, insurance coverage & corporate risk mitigation, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, and taxation. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, Leech Tishman also has offices in Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY and Wilmington, DE. For more information call 412.261.1600 or visit www.leechtishman.com.
About Spectrum-i: Spectrum-i, LLC, is the global leader in providing a comprehensive, multi-sourced, due diligence report product to our clients for the purposes of fraud prevention/detection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. We offer various scopes of analysis on domestic or foreign individuals and/or companies. During the research process, our analysts obtain and analyze information from several different sources and then employ a structured approach to determine appropriate levels of supplementary risk analysis and identification of anomalies related to person(s) and/or companies being vetted. All of the research is then compiled into a comprehensive report which is then ultimately provided to the client. See more at: www.spectrum-i.net.