Whoever sells in your name can take down your name.

KYP (Know Your Partner) is the due diligence of whoever sells, represents or acts in your company’s name: sales channels, distributors, resellers, commercial agents, integrators, franchisees, brokers, business consultants and joint-venture partners. The difference from a supplier is decisive: the supplier delivers to you; the partner acts for you — carries your brand, closes deals in your name and, legally, transfers liability for their acts to your company. That is why the commercial partner is, statistically, the most dangerous third party there is.

The global anti-corruption enforcement data is unequivocal: roughly 90% of FCPA cases — the US anti-corruption statute in force since 1978 — involved third-party intermediaries, according to Stanford Law School’s FCPA Clearinghouse. Agents, consultants and brokers alone account for about 72% of cases. And the willful-blindness doctrine closes the escape hatch: knowing the high probability of an improper payment by a third party — or ignoring red flags without diligence — already constitutes knowledge and creates liability. In Brazil, the anti-corruption law follows the same logic: strict liability of the company for third-party acts carried out in its interest or benefit, with fines of up to 20% of gross revenue.

A complete KYP operates in layers. Standing (the KYB engine) validates the company, its ownership, the ultimate beneficial owner, sanctions and lawsuits — of both the partner and its owners. Risk ties map PEPs and public agents in the ownership structure or relationship network, the classic red flag of the corruption intermediary. Commercial rationale answers the FCPA question: how does this partner win business? Off-market commissions, opaque compensation structures and a concentration in government sales are warning signs. Real capacity confirms that structure, team and history match the role — the partner that is just a tax ID and a bank account is the typical vehicle of the scheme. Reputation covers past scandals and litigation. And continuous monitoring tracks the partnership throughout its entire life.

The external problem is the bad partner. The internal problem is the conflict between sales — which wants to onboard fast to hit targets — and compliance, which knows the channel is the door to corruption. KYP sells peace between the two: fast onboarding because due diligence is automated, with actionable red flags at the gate instead of reports to file. Speed and integrity stop being opposites. The result is commercial expansion with integrity built in: grow through channels without leaving your brand to chance, with continuous surveillance and the due-diligence evidence your integrity program must show — exactly the third-party chapter the regulator looks at first.