When a watchlist screening check in Legl returns a Consider result, it means one or more potential matches were found on sanctions, PEP, or adverse media databases.
Your firm must then review these results to decide whether any of them truly relate to your client.
This article explains how to complete that review, document your decisions, and discount false positives to keep your records accurate and avoid receiving unnecessary ongoing monitoring alerts.
Understand the overall result
When a watchlist screening is complete, Legl assigns one of two possible outcomes:
Result | What it means | What you should do |
Clear | No relevant matches found. | You can proceed without further review in alignment with your firms Risk policy. |
Consider | One or more potential matches found that may relate to your client. |
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You’ll see these result in both:
The Watchlist screening section of the Client Due Diligence (CDD) PDF
The Legl UI, where matches appear as individual profiles with a Yes/No decision field.
Key information, and what it means
Each result includes key pieces of information to help you assess relevance and risk.
Matched entities or profiles
Each potential match is shown as an individual “profile”.
Profiles include:
Full name and known aliases (including translated or transliterated versions)
Category of match, e.g. Sanctions, PEP, Adverse media, Fitness & probity
Matched data points - such as name, date of birth, and country
Listing details - such as source name, role, or reason for inclusion
Links to source material (e.g. government websites, media articles)
Strong matches & probable false matches
Results are grouped to help triage:
Strong matches – likely your client based on exact or valid name matching.
Examples:
Perfect match: You search “Sarah Johnson” → We find “Sarah Johnson”
Valid word order: You search “Sarah Johnson” → We find “Johnson Sarah”
Missing middle name but valid: You search “Michael David Brown” → We find “Michael Brown”
These require careful review. Prioritise checking DoB, location, and other identifiers.
Probable false matches – similar names but likely different people (different first name or extra names). Still apply judgment; data quality varies across sources.
🟠 Note: Due to variance in source data, the most relevant result might not always be first. Apply your risk-based approach.
Sources
Every profile includes direct links to the data sources that triggered the match — such as:
Government sanctions lists (OFSI, OFAC, UN, EU, DFAT, MFAT)
Public office registers (e.g. UK Parliament, European Commission)
Official enforcement or disqualification databases (e.g. Companies House)
Credible media outlets for adverse media matches
Note: Adverse media results are only included when a potential PEP or sanctions match exists, to reduce irrelevant “noise”.
It is possible to screen all clients for Adverse Media. If this aligns with your risk policy and you would like this setting turned on, please reach out to [email protected].
How this appears in the PDF report
Your downloadable CDD report contains a full breakdown of the screening section.
Overview page – Displays a summary:
Overall result (Clear or Consider)
Number of potential matches found
Date and time the report was generated
Appendix section – Expands each match:
Each profile listed with its category (e.g. Politically Exposed Person, Adverse Media)
A list of data sources with clickable URLs (e.g. UK Parliament, Companies House, Daily Record)
Snippets from source material for adverse media matches, where available
How this appears in the Legl UI
In the Legl platform, you can view and act on results directly without downloading the PDF. We recommend this method as it will speed up your review.
Go to Engage → Individuals and select your client.
Open the Watchlist screening section of the CDD report.
You’ll see:
The summary result (Clear or Consider)
A list of potential matches, each shown as a line item
For each result:
Name and match type (e.g. PEP, Sanctions)
An arrow to open up the full details of the match
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How to review the results of a watchlist screening check and decide if any results match your client
Click the arrow on each profile to open the full result.
Confirm if the profile matches your client, and discount false positives
Here’s how to confirm and record that decision properly:
Compare key identifiers:
Name spelling or order
Date of birth or year
Nationality or country of residence
Professional role or context (e.g. politician vs private individual)
Check the source:
Government register (e.g. sanctions or PEP lists)
Media article (does the story clearly reference your client?)
Enforcement or regulatory record
If confident the profile is unrelated:
Select No – not my client
Add a short note explaining your reasoning e.g Different DOB, no link to UK.
If the profile matches your client then:
Select Yes – this is my client.
Add comment to explain your reasoning e.g. “Confirmed match – client is MP for Pudsey”
Click Add Comment.
Continue reviewing until decisions for each profile have been made
Review the remainder of your CDD Report
Tip: Further support here: What do I do when an Engage Request is "Ready for Review"?
🟢 Your PDF will be updated to reflect the decisions made for each match.
🟠 Ongoing monitoring will be turned off for any matches where ‘No’ is selected. This will keep your records accurate and avoid receiving unnecessary ongoing monitoring alerts.
Best practice
Document your reasoning - especially when discounting matches.
Review team-wide consistency - ensure all reviewers use similar criteria.
Check source material where needed - especially for sanctions or serious adverse media.
Use monitoring - confirmed matches will be tracked automatically.
Summary
You see | What it means | Action |
Clear | No relevant matches found | No action required |
Consider | One or more possible matches found | Review and confirm if any match your client |