Refinitiv partners with Japan’s Sansan to combat organized crime groups

Sansan selects Refinitiv’s World-Check to enhance its cloud-based business solutions

TOKYO/SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 16 April 2020 - Sansan Inc., Japan's leading cloud-based business card management service provider has partnered with Refinitiv to provide World-Check to its customers to enhance screening and support the government's efforts to combat "anti-social forces (ASF)" or organized crime groups.

Through the partnership with Sansan, which serves over 6,000 customers across the country and became Japan's largest IPO within the technology sector in 2019, Refinitiv aims to help Japanese businesses to streamline their business practices in a new era of digitalization.

Utilizing Sansan's card management solution, customers can scan business cards and store highly accurate digitalized information that instantly gets screened against ASF data from Refinitiv's World-Check database. Sansan's customers are acknowledged straightaway and able to reduce exposure to compliance breaches while unburdening from costs associated with manual operational checks.

Refinitiv World-Check Risk Intelligence database delivers accurate and reliable data that assist clients' in their decision-making processes. It employs hundreds of specialist research analysts across the globe, who adhere to stringent research guidelines when collating information from reliable sources - such as watch lists, government records, and reputable media publications.

"Anti-social Forces" is a euphemism in Japan for organized crime and considered a serious threat to businesses. According to the Japanese government, ASF are defined as groups or individuals who pursue economic interests using violence, power and deception. The government set guidelines to counteract damage caused by ASF in 2007. Since then the government has also made significant efforts to combat the issue with the Japan Financial Intelligence Center (JFIC) of the National Police Agency highlighting in its latest annual report[1] that the reported number of suspicious acts is still increasing. The government has been pursuing its firm stance against ASF and requiring business operators to tighten compliance measures.

"We are proud to provide this risk Intelligence powered by Refinitiv as an option within Sansan Plus through cooperation with Refinitiv. We are able to realize this new initiative thanks to the integration with World-Check. Our users have expressed great satisfaction in being able to access such services. We will continue to enhance the value we provide to our users through our joint efforts with Refinitiv," said Mr. Masamune Onaka, Manager of Sansan Plus Department, Sansan Inc.

"We're proud to work with Sansan to support their efforts against stamping out financial crime in Japan. The government's focus on fighting organised crime groups means it's critical for organizations to deploy advanced compliance technologies with reliable and trusted data. These efforts prevent the entrance of crime related proceeds from criminal activities. Leveraging our strong presence in the Japan market, Refinitiv successfully strengthens risk management practices to meet regulatory compliance across the financial industry and increasingly large enterprises and business communities," said Marcelo Hiratsuka, Head of Risk Market Development, Japan at Refinitiv.

About Sansan Inc.

"Turning encounters into innovation" is the company's mission. The Sansan cloud-based business card and contact management system for businesses, and the Eight business card app for individual businesspeople are how it achieves this mission. The company's services in Japan and overseas form a business card-based business platform. For more information visit: corp-sansan.com

About Refinitiv

Refinitiv is one of the world's largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in approximately 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thriving global financial markets community -- driving performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting financial crime. For more information visit: www.refinitiv.com