Criminal Background Check

Depending on the scope, a company’s criminal background check may include screening various records, such as:

• Court records
• Criminal convictions and arrests
• National and international watchlists
• Sex offender registry status
• Sanctions and Politically Exposed Person (PEP) databases

For example, iDenfy’s criminal background check consists of screening data from federal, state, county, and local sources, covering arrest records, prosecutions, warrants, sex offender registries, inmate data, parole lists, court records, and more. All data is sourced directly from official government systems and updated in real-time for maximum accuracy.

For example, a company can run a background check before investing in another company, such as a tech startup. In the same way, a public company can investigate a potential acquisition target. All third-party vendors and service providers should also undergo KYB checks and criminal background checks (as part of the standard due diligence processes). 

This is common for banks as well. For example, before onboarding a new client, a bank needs to carry out background checks. These include running a criminal background check on the person, verifying their source of wealth, screening for political exposure, and checking global sanctions lists to ensure compliance. 

Criminal background checks are important for businesses, financial institutions, and regulated industries that need to verify the trustworthiness of individuals and potential partners. The main goal is to detect any red flags, prevent fraud, and protect the company or individual from legal or financial risks, as criminal background checks are mandatory and a part of compliance with KYC, AML, and KYB regulations. 

Other, less stringent use cases include employee hiring, where a potential candidate is screened against watchlists and internal databases to see if they are eligible for working in a firm, especially in certain industries, for example, if they are working with sensitive, classified material.

A general background check often includes employment history, education verification, credit checks, and references. This term is often used in the context of employee screening and onboarding. A criminal background check specifically focuses on uncovering any criminal history associated with the individual, which is often used in the context of compliance and due diligence, following a strict rule-based framework that has mandatory steps, like identity verification for the individual being screened. Standard background checks are often internal and are decided by the company itself (if it’s not regulated, like a bank, for instance). 

The timeframe varies. Basic checks that are done by small companies for internal risk assessment use only can be completed within 24–72 hours, while comprehensive or international checks that need to maintain compliance standards can take several days, especially if no automated solutions are used. 

For this reason, most banks and other high-risk companies in sectors like banking and fintech use AI-powered third-party services, such as iDenfy’s criminal background check feature, offered alongside other KYC tools like ID document verification, biometric checks, and PEPs and sanctions screening. All processes run automatically in real time, allowing compliance officers to receive results almost instantly. Criminal background checks return downloadable PDF reports that display matches and indicate whether the individual has any criminal offenses, including details like court cases, offense class, and release dates.

iDenfy’s criminal background check can be initiated through the same dashboard that you use to conduct standard KYC checks, which is more convenient and doesn’t require extra enabling and coding or special integration. 

With the generated PDF criminal background check from iDenfy, you can review:

• The main status (if the person is “suspected” of having AML risks due to findings in criminal databases and needs additional review).
• Personal details (the person’s name, date of birth, etc.)
• The date of the check (when it was last performed)
• The offences and convictions (including details like ongoing court cases and arrest records)

This feature allows you to generate and download such due diligence reports automatically, which scan and collect data from official government databases that use up-to-date criminal watchlists and other reputable sources across federal, state, county, and local levels.