Due Diligence & Corporate Investigations

Know who you're dealing with — before you sign.

German companies are required to run checks: business partners (GwG / Money Laundering Act), suppliers along the chain (LkSG / Supply Chain Act), sanctions lists, beneficial owners. Escherlock delivers the facts behind those decisions — from open, official and licensed sources only, by lawful means only.

No hacking, no social engineering, no grey zone. We work from positive lists: the Commercial Register, Company Register, Federal Gazette, sanctions and PEP lists, insolvency and court announcements. Every finding traces back to its source; every processing step is GDPR-compliant.

Services

Red-Flag Report — 72 hours. A fast check on a business partner, company or individual before the first deal: sanctions, insolvency, court red flags, reputational risk. The “work with them or not” decision in three days.

Business Partner Check. Who owns it, who runs it, what they’re known for. Ownership structures, connections, conflicts of interest. Beneficial owners from the Transparency Register — accessed on a demonstrated legitimate interest under your KYC/AML duty, or via privileged access. Lawful and documented. The foundation of your anti-money-laundering compliance.

Supplier Check (LkSG). Due diligence under the Supply Chain Act: sanctions and reputational risk, indications of violations. Documentation you can put in front of the regulator.

Enhanced Due Diligence. For M&A, investment and major contracts: ownership structure, affiliations, hidden connections, source of funds. A full dossier with source references.

Sanctions & PEP Screening. Screening against EU sanctions lists, PEP and watchlists — including ties to sanctioned jurisdictions. One-off or as ongoing monitoring.

Asset Tracing & Litigation Support. Locating assets and gathering facts for disputes, enforcement and fraud cases. Material built for lawyers and traceable to source.

Property Check. Before the purchase: owner and encumbrances from the Land Register — via the buyer’s legitimate interest or through a notary; property history and parties from open sources. Before the money moves.

Discrepancy Report Support (§ 23a GwG). If a partner check turns up incorrect or incomplete register data, you are required to report it. We prepare the discrepancy report and close your obligation — and your fine exposure.

Monitoring. A partner, counterparty or asset under watch: new sanctions, lawsuits, change of ownership — you hear it first.

How we work

Open sources only (OSINT). Official registers, licensed databases, public and court announcements.

Lawful means only. Nothing that wouldn’t hold up to legal scrutiny.

Access-restricted registers (Transparency Register, Land Register) on a lawful basis — with a demonstrated legitimate interest, never around the law.

GDPR from the first step. Data processing is lawful and documented.

Traceability. Every finding with a source reference — not “our impression.”