A shell company is a corporate entity that exists almost entirely on paper. It typically has no physical office, no active business operations, and no significant assets. While shell companies can be used legally (e.g., for holding intellectual property, facilitating a merger, or protecting privacy), they are overwhelmingly used by bad actors to hide identities, evade taxes, and launder money.
The Threat to Payment Processors
Fraudsters frequently set up complex webs of shell companies across multiple international offshore jurisdictions to obscure the true Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO). If an acquiring bank unknowingly opens a merchant account for an illicit shell company, they become complicit in money laundering.
Exposing Hidden Structures with Onlayer
Digging through offshore registries manually is incredibly inefficient. Onlayer adapts your screening parameters dynamically to meet regional AML expectations across 150+ countries. By integrating seamlessly with global data providers, Onlayer detects PEPs, uncovers true UBOs, and identifies severe adverse media instantly during the KYB process.
