Due diligence

« Back to Glossary Index

In the company’s sale transaction, a necessary evaluation for the verification of financial or business information. It usually requires the assistance of a specialized third party that reviews the statements of each of the parties involved in a business. The objective is to determine the real value of the business for its purchase or sale so that the buyer has a clear understanding of what they are buying and what the real economic and financial situation of the business is. In banks, regulations to prevent money laundering require financial entities to apply whatever requirements are necessary for the correct identification of their customers, corporate accounts, and other financial vehicles. Money laundering is the set of activities and procedures that allow the introduction of illegally obtained money into the cycle of legal economy to hide its origin. It is one of the main strategies that criminal organizations use to protect themselves from police and judicial authorities. It can be carried out by altering the form of the money to avoid its identification, or by transferring it to tax havens or countries with laxer financial controls. The process begins through the transfer of funds of illegal origin to the legal financial system in small amounts; then, they undergo movements and conversions that help distance it from where it was generated; finally, it proceeds to its definitive reintroduction into the legal economy by investing in some economic sector or creating fraudulent companies.

« Back to Glossary Index