AML Check

The AML Check product allows you to perform due diligence on your customers by screening them against global watchlists, politically exposed persons lists, and adverse media publications. The product returns whether the screened customers are found on any of these lists and the corresponding details, which can be used to assess the customers’ associated risks.

Integration Options

Currently only available via the Rest API.

Endpoint

Request type: POST

Environment	Endpoint
Sandbox	https://testapi.smileidentity.com/v1/aml
Production	https://api.smileidentity.com/v1/aml

Request Values

The AML Check product requires the following input parameters which should be contained in a JSON body object submitted to the endpoint

Name	Type	Required	Description
partner_id	string	Yes	A unique number assigned by Smile ID to your account. Can be found in the portal here
source_sdk	string	No	The integration option you are using. For rest api send the value as rest_api
source_sdk_version	string	No	The version of the integration option you are using. Send value as 1.0.0
signature	string	Yes	The outgoing signature to authenticate the request from you to Smile ID. You can read more about calculating the signature here
timestamp	string	Yes	The timestamp used to calculate the signature in ISO date/time format
user_id	string	Yes	A value generated by you, so you can track users on your end. This value must be unique, can be any string and can follow your identifier convention Note: If you intend to enhance your due diligence and perform KYC on the customer e.g. Biometric KYC or Document Verification, you can re-use the user_id by setting the search_existing_user key to true. A unique job_id is still required.
job_id	string	Yes	A value generated by you, so you can track jobs on your end. This value must be unique, can be any string and can follow your identifier convention.
countries	array	Yes	An array that takes the customer’s known nationalities e.g. Nigeria is NG, Kenya is KE, etc.
full_name	string	Yes	The full name of the customer
birth_year*	string	No	The customer’s year of birth, in the format yyyy.
strict_match	boolean	No	The key provides flexibility in matching logic, allowing partners to specify whether they prefer strict or more lenient matching criteria per job search. Default value of the key is true.
search_existing_user	string	No	If you intend to re-use the name and year of birth of a user’s previous KYC job, you can pass the string with the value set to True. Note: You can only re-use name and year of birth from a user’s previously successful Biometric KYC or Document Verification, you are still required to pass the nationality in the countries field

*we highly recommend sending the birth_year to reduce the number of false matches

Example JSON Body

{
  "birth_year": "1984",
  "countries": ["US"],
  "full_name": "John Leo Doe",
  "job_id": "3ba0e15e-1a56-4799-a94d-b0e084f50256",
  "partner_id": "023",
  "search_existing_user": false,
  "strict_match": true,
  "signature": "...",
  "timestamp": "2021-08-12T17:57:00.614879",
  "user_id": "4cb0f26-2b567-5800-b05e-c0f095g6036"
}

Return Values

The AML Check product returns details of the customer screening and additional basic information about the user such as aliases, addresses, date of births, etc. whenever available.\

Name	Type	Description	Return Values
SmileJobID	string	The Smile internal reference number for the job. Please include this when contacting support on a job related issue
signature	string	The incoming signature, you can use this to verify that the response is from Smile ID
timestamp	string	The incoming timestamp in ISO date/time format, use this to calculate the incoming signature
ResultCode	string	Numeric value of the outcome of the AML Check job	For the list of potential result codes, check Result Code and Result Texts below
ResultText	string	Textual value of the job outcome. Human readable value for the result	For the list of potential result texts, check Result Code and Result Texts below
Actions	object	A JSON object containing the actions performed in the job. Currently only states whether the screened customer matched at least one record in our global watchlists, politically exposed persons list or an adverse article has been published about the person
Actions.Listed	string	Does the screened customer match any list or have had any adverse media published about them	Listed or Not Listed
PartnerParams	object	A JSON object containing the job references and any additional key-value pair you sent with the request
StrictMatch	boolean	Providing partners with clear visibility into the matching logic applied to their request.	True or False
PartnerParams.user_id	string	The unique user reference that was included in the request
PartnerParams.job_id	string	The unique job reference that was included in the request
PartnerParams.job_type	string	The numerical representation of the product you performed	10
no_of_persons_found	integer	The numbers of persons that matched with the customer based on the search parameters
people	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of each person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].name	string	The name of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].addresses	array of strings	A JSON array containing all the known addresses of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].aliases	array of strings	A JSON array containing all the known aliases of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].dates_of_birth	array of strings	A JSON array containing all the known dates of birth of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].nationalities	array of strings	A JSON array containing all the known nationalities of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].sanctions	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of each sanctions listing of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].sanctions[].date_of_birth	string	The date of birth in the sanctions listing
people[].sanctions[].nationality	string	The nationality in the sanctions listing
people[].sanctions[].source_details	object	The source details of the sanctions listing
people[].sanctions[].source_details.listed_date	string	The date the sanction was listed
people[].sanctions[].source_details.source_link	array of strings	Links to the source of the sanctions listing
people[].sanctions[].source_details.source_name	string	Name of the source of the sanctions listing
people[].sanctions[].source_details.source_type	string	The type of source	Sanctions
people[].enforcement_action	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of each enforcement action of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].enforcement_action[].description	string	Details of the enforcement action
people[].enforcement_action[].date	string	The date the enforcement action was enacted
people[].enforcement_action[].source_details	object	The source details of the enforcement action
people[].enforcement_action[].source_details.source_name	string	Name of the source of the enforcement action
people[].enforcement_action[].source_details.source_link	string	Link to the source of the enforcement action
people[].pep	object	A JSON objects containing details of the political positions of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].pep.pep_level	integer	The level of political influence the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters holds or held in a country	1 - high or 2 - medium or 3 - low
people[].pep.politcal_positions	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of all the political positions the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters holds or held in a country
people[].pep.politcal_positions[].country	string	The country where the political position is/was held. Note, this might be different from the person’s nationality
people[].pep.politcal_positions[].position	string	The actual political position held
people[].pep.politcal_positions[].from	string	The date the person commenced holding the political position
people[].pep.politcal_positions[].to	string	The date the person stopped holding the political position (if applicable)
people[].pep.sources	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of all the sources of the political positions
people[].pep.sources[].source_link	string	Link to the source of the political position
people[].pep.sources[].source_name	string	Link to the source name of the political position
people[].associations	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of all sanctioned or politically exposed affiliates of the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].associations[].association_type	string	The association type to the affiliate	PEP or SANCTIONS
people[].associations[].name	string	Name of the affiliate
people[].associations[].relationship	string	The relationship between the affiliate and the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].adverse_media	array of objects	A JSON array containing JSON objects of all adverse media publications written about the person that matches the customer based on the search parameters
people[].adverse_media[].date_published	string	The date the article was published
people[].adverse_media[].publisher	string	The media outlet that published the article
people[].adverse_media[].source_link	string	Link to the source of the article
people[].adverse_media[].title	string	Title of the article
people[].news_summary[].newsCategory	string	The name of the news category eg Financial Crime
people[].news_summary[].numberOfArticles	integer	The total number of articles published under this category for the person

Example JSON Response

{
  "Actions": {
    "Listed": "Listed"
  },
  "PartnerParams": {
    "job_type": 10,
    "user_id": "4cb0f26-2b567-5800-b05e-c0f095g6036",
    "job_id": "3ba0e15e-1a56-4799-a94d-b0e084f50256"
  },
  "SmileJobID": "0000000411",
  "no_of_persons_found": 1,
  "people": [
    {
      "addresses": ["Burbank"],
      "adverse_media": [
        {
          "date_published": "2021-09-24",
          "publisher": "Regulatory Times",
          "source_link": "https:regulatorytimes.com/article",
          "title": "Jon Doe angered regulators"
        }
      ],
      "aliases": ["John Doe"],
      "associations": [
        {
          "association_type": "PEP",
          "name": "Bob Smith",
          "relationship": "Bob Smith is an associate of John Leo Doe"
        }
      ],
      "dates_of_birth": ["1984-07-16"],
      "name": "John Leo Doe",
      "nationalities": ["American"],
      "pep": {
        "pep_level": 1,
        "political_positions": [
          {
            "country": "United States",
            "from": "2020-01-05",
            "position": "Representative",
            "to": "2022-01-05"
          },
          {
            "country": "United States",
            "from": "2022-01-05",
            "position": "Senator",
            "to": null
          }
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "source_link": "https://www.senate.gov/senators/",
            "source_name": "senate.gov"
          }
        ]
      },
      "sanctions": [
        {
          "date_of_birth": "",
          "nationality": "American",
          "source_details": {
            "listed_date": "2020-01-05",
            "source_link": ["https://sanctionslist.com"],
            "source_name": "Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)",
            "source_type": "Sanctions"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "ResultCode": "1030",
  "ResultText": "Found on list",
  "signature": "...",
  "StrictMatch": true,
  "timestamp": "2023-02-17T16:24:16.835Z"
}

Error Codes

Error codes occur when there is a general failure that prevents the system from processing the job. AML Check jobs that return errors do not show up in the job list page of the portal.\

Code	Text	Description
2205	You are not authorized to do that.	An invalid signature/timestamp was used to sign the request. You can troubleshoot the error here.
2210	No enrolled user found	You attempted to re-use KYC from a previous Biometric KYC or Document Verification job but the user id was not found in the system. Check the user id or remove the search_existing_user key and re-run the job
2210	No KYC data found for this user	You attempted to re-use KYC of a previous user, however the user does not have any personal information e.g. a SmartSelfieTM Registration job was performed on the user. Remove the search_existing_user key, then send the user’s full name, nationality and year of birth with a new job_id but the same user_id
2210	No name found in prior KYC	You attempted to re-use the KYC of a previous user, however the user’s Biometric KYC or Document Verification job did not return a name. This can happen in rare cases where there is a bug in the ID authority database. Remove the search_existing_user key, then send the user’s full name, nationality and year of birth with a new job_id but the same user_id
2210	No date of birth found in prior KYC	You attempted to re-use the KYC of a previous user, however the user’s Biometric KYC or Document Verification job did not return a date of birth. Remove the search_existing_user key, then send the user’s full name, nationality and year of birth with a new job_id but the same user_id
2223	User KYC data is beyond the data retention expiration date	You attempted to re-use KYC from a previous Biometric KYC or Document Verification job but the job is past its data retention period and all personal information of the user has been deleted
2401	System Error
2403	Invalid JSON	The JSON is wrongly formatted or has an invalid structure
2413	<key> is required	The required key <key> is missing in the request body. Add the key and run the request again.
2414	This feature requires you to activate ID Validation for your Smile ID account	The AML Check product is not activated for your account. You can contact support to activate the product
2420	Production is not enabled for this account. Please complete your KYC with Smile ID.	You have not completed your KYC. You can read about our KYC requirement here.

Result Codes and Result Texts

AML check jobs that are processed successfully can have the following result codes

Code	Text	Description
1030	Listed	The search parameters matched at least one person in our system
1031	Not found on list	The search parameters did not match any persons in our system
1017	Not found on list - warning	The search parameters matched at least one person in our system but only returns news media
1023	No match found	Refine your query by adding strict_match or birth_year
1015	Database Unavailable	The AML Check database is currently unavailable