Business Risk Management

International Due Diligence for Business Partnerships

Before signing a deal with an overseas partner, you need to verify their company, directors, and track record. This guide explains the public‑source research that protects your investment.

Key public records to examine

  • National company registries (e.g., Companies House, Handelsregister).
  • Director and shareholder filings.
  • Litigation and insolvency records.
  • Sanctions and PEP lists.

How we support your due diligence

Our Authorized Due Diligence service manually pulls and analyses these records, providing a clear risk summary. For broader partner checks, see our guide on Business Background Checks.

How to Perform International Due Diligence on Business Partners

  1. Collect precise legal identifiers. Obtain the legal entity name, registration number (e.g., UK Company Number, German HRB, Russian OGRN), VAT ID, and registered address from the partner.
  2. Search local business registries. Use official sites: Companies House (UK), Registre du Commerce (France), Unternehmensregister (Germany), EGRUL (Russia), or OpenCorporates for global coverage. Verify incorporation date, status (active/ dissolved), and filing history.
  3. Check sanctions, watchlists, and PEP databases. Run names through OFAC SDN, EU sanctions, UN Consolidated, World Bank debarments, and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance. Screen for politically exposed persons (PEPs) via free tools like sanctions.io.
  4. Review international court and legal actions. Search PACER (US federal), the UK National Archives for judgments, and the Court of Justice of the EU. For arbitration, check ICC or LCIA awards if publicly available.
  5. Analyze beneficial ownership (where available). Use country‑specific beneficial ownership registers (UK PSC, Ukrainian EDR, EU registers). If not public, request a formal declaration and verify via leaked data or corporate structure filings.
  6. Gather adverse media and reputation checks. Search the company and director names + “fraud”, “lawsuit”, “corruption” in multiple languages using Google News, LexisNexis, or a commercial adverse media tool.
  7. Order a local in‑country report if red flags appear. When online data is incomplete or non‑English, hire an on‑ground investigator or a due diligence firm like Kroll or Control Risks to visit the physical address, interview neighbors, and retrieve non‑digitized court files.
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