Emirates SkyCargo and Accuity Set New Standards in Global Trade Compliance

Air cargo carrier signs multi-year deal with Accuity to optimise its sanctions compliance and export control programs

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, announced that it is working with Accuity, the leading global provider of financial crime compliance, payments and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions, to help automate and streamline its regulatory compliance screening operations, increase efficiency and improve the speed of service to its customers.

Emirates Sky Cargo has implemented Firco Trade Compliance, an Accuity solution that efficiently screens shipment documentation (such as airway bills) against sanctions, dual-use goods and regulatory watch lists, within a single interface.

The new solution enhances Emirates SkyCargo's current process, enabling the business to automate approximately 6 million compliance checks each month. This will significantly improve efficiency, while enabling Emirates to uphold the extremely high compliance standards that sit at the heart of its ethos.

Henrik Ambak, Senior Vice President, Cargo Operations Worldwide, Emirates, said: "Our top priority is to continue to adhere to regulatory requirements and manage our screening obligations accurately. Working with Accuity has enabled us to screen our very high volumes of shipments more efficiently, ensuring that we comply with all international regulations."

Firco Trade Compliance is an award-winning solution that was originally developed to enable banks to detect sanctions risks in trade finance transactions. Through collaborative innovation with clients, Accuity has adapted the offering to cater to the freight industry's large-scale and highly complex operational requirements.

Cargo operators are responsible for conducting due diligence on the parties and items involved in every shipment they facilitate. This includes verifying the legitimacy of the sender and recipient, checking for dual-use or controlled goods (for example, those that could have a military purpose), and ensuring the shipment is not going to or coming from a prohibited location.

Emirates will now be able to screen shipment documentation against a variety of regulatory lists, such as the OFAC sanctions list and the EU dual and controlled goods list. Firco Trade Compliance also allows the analysis of bespoke datasets so, for example, Emirates will be able to screen goods against an endangered wildlife list, all within the same system.

"Emirates SkyCargo is firmly committed to the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking and with the functionality of the Firco Trade Compliance system, we will now also be able to more effectively identify any wilful mis-declaration of wildlife goods that are shipped illegally," commented Ambak.

Sophie Lagouanelle, Vice President, Financial Crime Screening, Accuity, said: "This project marks a significant milestone for Accuity in our strategy to expand our screening offering to the cargo industry. By working in close partnership with Emirates SkyCargo, we are redefining best practice and setting a new standard of compliance for other cargo operators to follow."