Scoped and agreed in writing
A short call, a clear scope and a fixed fee before any work begins. No hourly billing and no surprises.
Entities and jurisdictionsMapped
Evidence requiredAgreed
Fixed fee and deadlineSigned
Now openFCA cryptoasset authorisation gatewayFCA crypto gateway
Specialists infighting financialcrime
AML programmes, enhanced due diligence, sanctions and PEP screening, and ownership investigations for payment firms, crypto businesses, banks and professional services, led by practitioners with experience at KPMG, Deloitte, BNY and HSBC.
Leadership experience gained at
Who we are
KYCifi is a specialist financial crime consultancy. We pair senior practitioner judgement with technology we built ourselves, so every client receives signed, evidenced decisions in hours rather than weeks.
Who we serve
Every firm with a duty to stop financial crime.
If you are supervised for AML by the FCA, HMRC, the SRA or a professional body, or you are regulated in Pakistan, we already understand your obligations.
Payments and e-money
Built for firms that move money.
Payment institutions, EMIs and remitters face some of the FCA's sharpest AML scrutiny, and sponsor banks expect evidence before they onboard or renew you. We build the frameworks, clear the backlogs and prepare the files that keep you banked.
Alert backlog reviewIllustrative
Alerts reviewed0Backlog cleared
Escalated04.4% of total
Confirmed risk0Reported, signed
Screening alerts
4,820
False positives
4,606
Escalated to EDD
214
Confirmed risk
9
Discounted with rationaleDecision signed by a practitioner
Gateway open now
The FCA crypto gateway is open. Be ready before it closes.
The new UK cryptoasset regime requires FSMA authorisation. Firms already registered under the MLRs do not convert automatically, and payment and e-money firms offering crypto are in scope too. A strong financial crime framework is central to every application.
Application window · FCA ConnectToday
Today
30 Sep 2026Gateway opens
Applications accepted via FCA Connect
28 Feb 2027Window closes
Apply by now for a decision before commencement
CommencementNew regime in force
Unauthorised firms must have wound down
MLR-registered
Existing crypto firms
No automatic conversion. Your AML framework will be tested afresh.
PSRs and EMRs
Payment and e-money firms
Firms adding crypto services need the right permissions and controls.
FSMA-authorised
Banks and investment firms
Varying permissions to include cryptoasset activities.
New entrants
Exchanges, custodians, stablecoins
Building a compliant financial crime framework from day one.
Gateway readiness review
We assess your AML, sanctions and Travel Rule framework against what the FCA will test.
What we do
One standard of evidence, across every service.
Every engagement is scoped in writing, priced as a fixed fee and led by a senior practitioner from instruction to sign-off.
Enhanced due diligence
PEPs, complex structures and higher-risk jurisdictions, with source of wealth evidenced and the rationale documented.
Ownership and UBO investigations
Structures traced through every layer and reconciled against the register, to the people who really control the business.
Sanctions and PEP screening
Alerts adjudicated with a clear discounting rationale.
AML programme build
Risk assessments, policies and controls that pass supervision.
Fractional MLRO
Senior MLRO cover, oversight and board reporting.
Source of funds and wealth
Evidence packs to the standard a bank reviewer applies.
Regulatory readiness
FCA, SRA and HMRC supervisory visits and file reviews.
Ongoing screening and review
Periodic rescreening and outsourced capacity.
How we work
The research is automated. The judgement never is.
Gathered in hours, not days
Registries, filings, sanctions lists, global media and the open web, searched and assembled by technology we built for this work.
Every finding tested
A senior practitioner challenges each result, discounts the noise and reasons the conclusion, the way a regulator would expect.
Name match, different DOBDiscounted
Domestic PEP, one ownerEDD
Nominee layer explainedResolved
A decision you can defend
A signed, evidenced opinion with the full audit trail, ready for a regulator, a reviewing bank or your board.
Reviewed and signedSenior practitioner · KYCifi
What you receive
Not a data dump. A decision.
Every engagement ends with a clear, signed assessment that a regulator, a reviewing bank or your board can rely on. Your free case assessment is held to the same standard.
An executive summary in plain EnglishThe risk, the reasoning and what to do next.
Ownership traced to the individualsEvery layer, reconciled against the register.
Every alert adjudicatedSanctions, PEP and adverse media, with a documented rationale.
Signed by a senior practitionerWith the full evidence trail retained.
Confidential · Illustrative
Corporate due diligence assessment
KY-2026-0418 · Enhanced due diligence
Residual riskMedium · proceed with EDD
The subject, , is owned through a four-layer structure resolving to two individuals. One owner is a domestic PEP. No sanctions exposure was identified.
Sanctions, 40+ listsNo match
PEP status, owner BEDD applied
Adverse media, 3 articlesDiscounted
Source of wealthEvidenced
Senior practitionerReviewed and signed · KYCifi
Signed opinion
Featured engagement
Four layers. Eleven entities. Resolved in 48 hours.
A fintech under review by its bank needed its ownership and source of funds evidenced before the relationship could continue. We traced the structure across three jurisdictions, reviewed the funds and prepared the submission for the reviewing bank.
ClientFintech, anonymised
TriggerBank relationship review
Documents37 reviewed and indexed
DeliveredUBO and source of funds packs
Ownership mapAnonymised
Entities11
Jurisdictions3
Delivered in48 hrs
Technology-enabled delivery
LÆdar. The engine behind our work.
LÆdar is the intelligence engine we built from years inside banks and Big Four review teams. It traces ownership, screens people and companies, and reads filings and the open web on every engagement. It never makes the decision. Our practitioners do.
Clients receive a signed opinion and the evidence behind it, never a login or a raw data dump.
Case pipelineKY-2026-0418
Company registry and filingsRetrieved
Ownership traced, 4 layersMapped
Sanctions and PEP, 40+ listsScreened
Adverse media, global sourcesReviewed
Web presence and register checksVerified
Practitioner judgement and sign-offSigned
Where we work
UK headquartered. Cross-border by design.
We advise firms supervised in the UK and Pakistan, and screen against global sanctions regimes wherever your counterparties are.
GB · Headquarters
United Kingdom
Advisory, investigations and supervisory readiness from No.1 Spinningfields, Manchester.
- FCA
- SRA
- HMRC
- MLR 2017
- JMLSG
- LSAG
PK · Advisory
Pakistan
NOC readiness, AML/CFT frameworks and goAML workflows for virtual asset firms and the banks that serve them.
- PVARA
- SBP
- AMLA 2010
- FATF
Global · Screening
40+
Sanctions and PEP lists, with every potential match adjudicated by a practitioner.
- UN
- OFAC
- FCDO
- EU
Insights
Analysis from the front line.
New · Crypto · 21 Oct 2026
The FCA crypto gateway is open: what MLR-registered firms must do before 28 February 2027
No automatic conversion, a fixed application window and real consequences for applying late. What it means for your financial crime framework.
Read the briefing Due diligenceSource of funds for a bank review: what satisfies a reviewer
Why "savings" is not an answer, and what a reviewer is really trying to establish.
Read Regulation · Law firmsWhat the FCA taking over AML supervision means for law firms
The supervisor is changing. Your obligations are not.
Read Digital assets · PakistanPVARA NOC readiness: what is actually assessed
The gateway to Pakistan's virtual asset market, and what the regulator scrutinises.
ReadI spent years on the bank side of KYC and kept seeing the same gap: banks asking for evidence, and businesses unsure what was really needed. KYCifi exists to close that gap with decisions both sides can rely on.
Leadership
Led by practitioners who have sat on the other side of the review.
KYCifi was founded to give regulated firms the standard of financial crime judgement found inside the Big Four and global banks, without the cost or the wait. Our founder's thirteen-year career spans KPMG, Deloitte, Eversheds Sutherland, BNY, HSBC, Citibank and NatWest Group, beginning in fraud at RBS. Today he leads a team of financial crime specialists working across AML, sanctions and due diligence.
AML programmesSanctionsKYC remediationComplex EDDPaymentsDigital assets
The team
Senior practitioners supported by certified analysts, with every opinion reviewed and signed.
BABilal AkhtarFounder and Principal Consultant
Thirteen years in financial crime across KPMG, Deloitte, Eversheds Sutherland, BNY, HSBC, Citibank and NatWest Group.
SSteveSenior Financial Crime Specialist
More than ten years in AML and compliance, leading reviews and remediation for regulated firms.
Financial Crime AnalystCAMS certified
Evidence gathering, screening review and case preparation, with every output checked by a senior practitioner.
Questions
Before you get in touch.
The questions compliance teams ask us most often. Anything else, email us.
What does the free case assessment include?
You share one live matter, such as a corporate client, an onboarding file or a set of screening alerts. We investigate it properly and return a signed written assessment. It is one case per firm, at no cost and with no obligation to instruct us.
How do you keep our information confidential?
We sign a non-disclosure agreement before you share any client information, and we handle all personal data in line with UK GDPR. Please do not include client names or personal data in the request form.
Who signs the assessment?
A senior practitioner. Our technology gathers and organises the evidence, but every finding is tested and every conclusion is reasoned and signed by a person.
Will we get access to your software?
No. You receive a signed opinion and the evidence behind it. We run the research and analysis ourselves, so there is nothing for your team to learn or maintain.
How is work priced?
Every engagement is scoped in writing and agreed as a fixed fee before work begins. There is no hourly billing.
Do you replace our MLRO?
Not unless you want us to. Most clients use us to support their MLRO with capacity and expertise. For firms that need cover, we also provide a fractional MLRO service.
Can you help with an FCA crypto gateway application?
Yes. We assess and strengthen the financial crime framework your application relies on, including AML, sanctions and Travel Rule controls. We are not a law firm and work alongside your legal advisers on the application itself.
Where do you work?
We are based in Manchester and advise firms supervised in the UK and Pakistan. Our sanctions and PEP screening covers more than 40 global lists.
Free case assessment
Send us one case. Judge the result.
Tell us a little about the case. We will send our NDA, agree the scope and return a signed assessment. No cost and no obligation.
Request received.
Thank you. We will be in touch shortly to arrange the NDA and agree the scope of your free assessment.