A new high-risk country report service has been launched by SmartSearch, the anti-money laundering specialist, in response to the introduction of sanctions against Russia.

The service enables regulated businesses, including estate agents, to scan existing clients and check for residency or citizenship in Russia, Belarus, or any other high-risk countries.

The new reporting tool instantly checks all clients that the regulated business has previously run searches on, and returns matches for those that have a connection to the specified country.

The aim is to support those companies looking to quickly and efficiently evaluate their existing client bases following sanctions placed on a number of Russian individuals and businesses.

In addition, the search provides a list of all UK business searches on companies where a corporate structure is returned and an entity within the structure that is operated in a high-risk country.

“With the potential reputational and financial damage that could ensue for those working with clients connected to Russia or Belarus, regulated businesses have rightly been reviewing their existing clients,” Martin Cheek, managing director of SmartSearch explained.

“This new product will give businesses peace of mind that they aren’t working with anyone they shouldn’t be. The information will be provided quickly and efficiently, and will also be regularly updated for ongoing monitoring purposes,” he added.