Counterparty due diligence: four tiers compared
Registries, beneficial owners, sanctions, court records, real assets — recorded in a report with a date, the sources behind every fact and an Argus Score. Your lawyer gets something to stand on; your finance team gets something that closes an audit. This page compares all four levels line by line, so you can see exactly what each step up adds.
How much does counterparty due diligence cost?
At Argus Intel the price of a counterparty check depends on depth. We name it after a short brief and fix it before we start. The entry level covers registries, sanctions and red flags in 4–24 hours; the legal-grade level adds a chain of custody and a format built to survive court or arbitration. Every report carries a date, its sources and an Argus Score. Four levels:
| Level | Turnaround | What is included | When to take it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Check | 4–24 hours | Legal status, registration data, sanctions (Ukraine + OFAC / EU / UN), basic OSINT, red flags, written verdict | A quick deal, a new small supplier |
| Standard Report | 4–24 hours | + ultimate beneficial owners (UBO), media and reputation, court records, PDF report with an Argus Score | A contract of real size, a recurring partner |
| Premium Intel | agreed at the brief | + public offshore-leak datasets, satellite asset verification (GEOSINT), hidden connections, several jurisdictions, UBO Deep Trace | A complex ownership structure, a large or cross-border deal |
| Legal-Grade | 2–5 business days | + chain of custody, analyst signature, RFI question set, format built for court and arbitration | A dispute, M&A, preparation for a claim |
- Legal status of the company
- Sanctions lists — Ukraine plus international
- Basic OSINT profile
- Obvious red flags identified
- + optional modules, listed below
- Everything in Basic
- UBO — real owners down to the beneficiary
- Media and reputation screening
- Court records and enforcement proceedings
- PDF report with a verdict and an Argus Score
- Everything in Standard
- UBO Deep Trace — offshore links, nominee directors
- GEOSINT — satellite verification of assets
- International investigative and offshore-leak databases
- Extended connection analysis
- Everything in Premium
- Chain of custody for every source, with timestamps
- Question set for your lawyer (RFI)
- Written opinion as an annex to the contract
- 30-minute verbal briefing for your lawyer
We quote the price after a short brief and fix it before work starts.
What exactly changes as you move up a level
Everything each tier covers, item by item. Where a line is available as a paid module on top of Basic, it is marked as a module instead of a tick.
| What you get | Basic | Standard | Premium | Legal-Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline — in every tier | ||||
| Legal status and registration data | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Founders and registered directors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sanctions screening — Ukraine, OFAC, EU, UN, UK | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basic OSINT profile — address, connected persons | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Obvious red flags identified | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written verdict — proceed, clarify, or stop | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Depth of research | ||||
| Argus Score 0–100 with a risk breakdown | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) | module | ✓ | Deep Trace | Deep Trace |
| Media and reputation screening | module | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Court records and enforcement proceedings | module | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| War-time compliance — hidden Russia links | module | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public offshore-leak datasets | module | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| GEOSINT — satellite verification of assets | module | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nominee directors and transit-jurisdiction chains | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Several jurisdictions in one report | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Evidentiary form | ||||
| PDF report | module | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chain of custody and timestamp on every source | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Signature and stated qualification of the analyst | — | — | — | ✓ |
| RFI question set for your lawyer | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Written opinion as an annex to the contract | — | — | — | ✓ |
| 30-minute verbal briefing for your lawyer | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Delivery | ||||
| Turnaround | 4–24 h | 4–24 h | on brief | 2–5 days |
| Rush handling | module | module | by arrangement | by arrangement |
Pick by what the decision costs you, not by the price tag
The useful question is not how much the report costs but how much the wrong counterparty costs. A rule of thumb: spend on the check roughly what one week of untangling the mess would cost you.
A first, low-value order from a supplier you found last week
You need to know the company legally exists, is not on a sanctions list, and has no glaring problems. Prepayment is small enough that you can live with the loss but large enough that you would rather not. This is also the right level when you have twelve candidates and need to cut them down to three before doing real work.
A contract of real size, or a partner you plan to keep
Here the registry entry stops being enough. You want the person behind the company, whether they are being sued, what the press says, and whether anything connects them to Russia. You get a numeric score and a verdict that a finance director can read in five seconds and a lawyer can attach to a file.
Complex ownership, several jurisdictions, or a claim you cannot verify
Holding structures, nominee directors, a chain running through transit jurisdictions, a warehouse or plant the counterparty says exists. We go into public offshore-leak datasets and check physical assets against satellite imagery. Take this when the deal is large enough that a hidden owner would change your answer.
The findings may end up in front of a court or an arbitrator
The difference is form, not effort. Every source carries a timestamp and a chain of custody, the analyst signs the report, and your lawyer gets a question set built around the discrepancies we found. Take this before filing a claim, during M&A, or when you need to show a regulator that the check was actually performed.
You ran a proper check. And you can prove it.
When a deal goes wrong, the first question put to counsel is what was done to check the counterparty. An Argus report with a date, its sources and a risk score becomes a document in your file: the check was performed, the facts were recorded, and the reasoning is visible to anyone who reads it. That is what separates Legal-Grade from Premium — not more digging, but a form that holds up when someone tries to take it apart.
UBO Deep Trace — who really controls the counterparty
Ownership structure traced to the ultimate beneficiary. We cut through nominee directors and chains running via offshores and transit jurisdictions. If a sanctioned person, Russian capital or the subject of an investigation sits behind your counterparty, you will see it.
- Ownership structure down to the beneficiary
- Nominee directors, offshore links
- Russian footprint, sanctions connections
- Ownership map with sources for every step
Start with Basic — add only what you actually need
Each module attaches to the Basic Check independently. Or take a ready package — it works out cheaper than assembling the same set of modules.
Need one criterion only? Take a module. Need the full picture? Standard is faster, costs less than the same set of modules and comes with a verdict.
Argus Score — one number instead of thirty pages
A weighted risk score from 0 to 100, built from legal status, ownership structure, sanctions exposure, financial condition and reputation. The detail stays in the report for whoever needs it; the number is for whoever has to decide.
Recommended for cooperation
Nothing in the open record contradicts what the counterparty tells you. Proceed on your normal terms.
Settle it before you sign
We found discrepancies that carry consequences. The report lists what to ask and which document to request in each case.
Critical risks found
Ownership, litigation or financial signals that would normally stop a deal, each one traced back to its source.
Sanctions, criminal exposure, wanted status
A separate flag, outside the numeric scale. The Basic Check gets a written verdict rather than a numeric score.
Answers to the main questions
The legal status of the company, screening against sanctions lists (Ukraine plus OFAC, EU and UN), a basic OSINT profile — founders, registered address, connected persons — and detection of obvious red flags. Delivered in 4–24 hours.
A weighted risk score from 0 to 100. It accounts for legal status, ownership structure, sanctions exposure, financial condition and reputation. 75–100 means clean, 40–74 means there are questions to settle before signing, 0–39 means not recommended. A CFO reads one number and decides. The score is included from Standard upwards; Basic gets a written verdict without a numeric score.
Sanctions lists catch what has already been designated. Around 80% of circumvention schemes run through companies that look legally clean on paper. We look for the hidden chain: transit jurisdictions such as Georgia, Armenia, the UAE, Turkey and Kazakhstan, ownership re-registered after February 2022, and activity on occupied territory.
Yes, globally — 40+ countries and 90+ sources: national and international corporate registries, international investigative and offshore-leak databases, specialised trackers of aggressor-linked assets and others. We cover legal entities, individuals and offshore structures, and every fact is cross-checked.
Verification of assets through satellite imagery. A counterparty claims to run a plant in Poland — we test that claim against satellite images and geolocate it by shadows and landmarks. Available from the Premium level.
Legal-Grade is assembled for later use in court or arbitration. Every source carries a chain of custody with a timestamp. The report comes with a question set for your lawyer (RFI) — pointed questions built around the discrepancies we found, with the possible answers and what each one would mean. A 30-minute verbal briefing for your lawyer is included. Premium does not give you that package: it is about depth of research, not evidentiary form.
Fill in the form below: the company name or the full name of the person, the country, and the level you want. We usually reply within a couple of working hours and issue an invoice. Once it is paid, the report goes to your email within the stated turnaround.
Order a counterparty check
Tell us the company and what the deal is worth — we will say which level actually fits and quote it before any work starts.
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