Strengthening Counterparty Due Diligence for a Cross-Border Gold Trading Business
Industry
Precious Metals & Gold Trading
Client Type
Precious Metals & Gold Trading
Region
UAE – Turkey – Europe Trade Corridor
The Situation
A UAE-based gold trading firm was expanding its supplier and buyer network across multiple jurisdictions, including Turkey, Switzerland, and parts of Africa. As transaction volumes increased, the number of counterparties involved in trades also grew
significantly. While the company had basic onboarding procedures in place, counterparty due diligence was largely handled manually by different members of the operations team. Over time, this
led to inconsistencies in how new suppliers and buyers were screened and approved.
Management recognised that as the business expanded internationally, a more structured
approach to counterparty due diligence would be required to manage regulatory,
reputational, and banking risks.
The Compliance Challenge
Several operational gaps had started to emerge
- Inconsistent onboarding procedures across teams
- Limited screening for sanctions exposure, PEPs, and adverse media
- Difficulty verifying complex ownership structures
- No formal escalation process for higher-risk counterparties
- Fragmented documentation for compliance reviews
These gaps created uncertainty as the company continued to scale its international trading network.
Avenox’s Approach
Avenox worked with the firm to introduce a structured due diligence framework designed specifically for precious metals trading operations.
- Inconsistent onboarding procedures across teams
- Limited screening for sanctions exposure, PEPs, and adverse media
- Difficulty verifying complex ownership structures
- No formal escalation process for higher-risk counterparties
- Fragmented documentation for compliance reviews
These gaps created uncertainty as the company continued to scale its international trading network.
Outcome
The company established a more consistent and structured onboarding process for all trading partners. Counterparty screening became standardized across teams, and higherrisk relationships were identified earlier in the onboarding process.
This allowed the firm to continue expanding its international trading operations while maintaining stronger compliance controls and clearer documentation for banking and
regulatory reviews.
