Deep Background Check

The Deep Background Check maps the corporate structure behind your supplier — who owns it, what else those companies own, and what the trade, court and banking records say — in seven to ten working days.

Some suppliers are exactly what they appear to be. Others are one of five companies registered to the same address, where the order is taken by one entity, the invoice raised by a second and the goods shipped by a third. When something goes wrong, you find out your contract is with the company that holds nothing.

A credit report will tell you the company exists and print its registered capital. It will not tell you that the same shareholding company owns four other trading entities, or that one of them lost a shipping dispute last year, or that the bank account you were given belongs to none of them. We trace up to five linked corporate entities, pull corporate trade and shipping records, search litigation and enforcement filings, and check where your payment is actually being directed. A named reviewer then writes what the structure means for your order.

Price: $1,500 — fixed price. Turnaround: 7–10 working days.

The verdict you get: Closes with a clear GEB verdict — proceed, restructure the deal, or stop — plus a confidence level and the one structural risk that matters most. Not a data dump; a decision.

What you receive

• Corporate ownership structure: parent, shareholding entities and group companies of record
• Up to 5 linked corporate entities traced, with what each one appears to do
• Corporate trade and shipping records: what the company has actually moved, and where to
• Litigation, enforcement and sanctions searches against the company and its group
• Corporate banking relationships and a check on where payment is being directed, in 7–10 working days

Best for

• Orders large enough that a surprise in the structure would be expensive
• Suppliers asking you to pay a company that is not the one on the contract
• A relationship you plan to build a business on

Not for: Not an investigation of individuals, and not a promise that the supplier is fraud-free or will perform. GEB works at company level, on lawful public and commercial records only. No factory floor and no capacity check — that is the Factory Visit.

Natural next step: Factory Visit.

Frequently asked questions

Do you investigate individuals?

No. GEB works at the company level, using lawful public and commercial records. We map corporate ownership, group structure and company filings. We do not profile named directors as people.

How fast is it?

Seven to ten working days, depending on how many entities the structure turns out to have.

What if the records are thin?

We say so plainly and list what could not be confirmed. Where the record is thin the reviewer lowers the confidence level rather than filling the gap. The checkout questionnaire asks for every company name and bank account you have been given so far; that is where we start.