Procedure
The counterparty check of Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov
Six steps, roughly an hour, all of them on public sources. The order matters more than the thoroughness: each step is placed where it can end the process cheaply.
English version for the United Kingdom.
Start with existence, not reputation
The first question is whether the entity on the invoice exists in the register of the jurisdiction it claims. Search by number when you have one and by exact name when you do not, and read the status line rather than the fact that something was found.
Struck off, dissolved and in liquidation are all statuses that end the check. So is a name that matches but an address that belongs to a mass registration service in a country the counterparty never mentioned.
Read the licence in the regulator's list, not on the website
Regulated activity leaves a trace in the regulator's own register. Search that register by the licence number, because a number that belongs to a different company is the most common form of the trick and it survives a name search.
A licence displayed as an image, a PDF or a line of text on the counterparty's own site is not evidence. It is the claim being tested.
Check how old the front door is
Domain registration data shows when the address that is asking for money came into existence. A company that describes a decade of work behind a domain registered last month has explained nothing yet.
The same applies to the profile, the shop page and the phone number. Age is not proof of honesty, but a brand new front door on an old story is a contradiction that needs an answer.
Compare the payment instructions to the entity
Payment details are where a check most often pays for itself. The account name should match the entity you verified, in the country you verified it in.
A request to pay a private individual, a payment processor in an unrelated jurisdiction or a wallet address sent in a chat message is a different transaction from the one you agreed to, regardless of how the request is explained.
Insist on written terms before money moves
Written terms are not a formality. They are the document that decides what happens when delivery is late, when the goods differ from the description and when one side wants out.
A counterparty who will not put the scope, the deadline and the dispute route in writing has told you what the dispute will look like.
- Register Entry exists, name matches, status is active.
- Licence Found in the regulator's list by number, held by this entity.
- Domain Registration date is consistent with the claimed history.
- Courts No pattern of unpaid judgments or enforcement.
- Payment Account name and country match the verified entity.
- Terms Scope, deadline and dispute route exist in writing.
What each step replaces
| Step | Replaces | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Register entry | Trusting a certificate image | Minutes, free |
| Regulator list | Trusting a licence number quoted on the site | Minutes, free |
| Domain history | Trusting the claimed years in business | Minutes, free |
| Court records | Trusting testimonials | Up to an hour, usually free |
| Payment match | Trusting the explanation for a third party account | Minutes, free |
| Written terms | Trusting a verbal promise | One exchange of messages |
Nothing in this list requires a paid service. Every step uses a register, a regulator or a public database, which is exactly why the check is worth doing before rather than after.
Questions and answers
- How long does the counterparty check take?
- About an hour for an ordinary case. The order is chosen so that the cheapest disqualifying answers come first, which means most failed checks end in the first ten minutes.
- What if the counterparty is in another country?
- The steps stay the same, but the sources change. The register and the regulator are the ones of the jurisdiction the counterparty claims, not the ones you are familiar with.
- Is a paid background check better?
- It is a different product. Paid reports aggregate the same public records and add convenience; they do not add sources that would otherwise be unavailable to you.