Compliance for the Rest of Us: Building Defenses Without the Corporate Shield

In a recent story published on Medium, Anqa co-founder Justin Pemberton unpacked how some of the world’s most respected companies — Mercedes-Benz, Meta, HSBC — have quietly become structural enablers of financial crime.

Not by accident. By design.

At Anqa, we work with small, resource-stretched businesses across Africa and Asia. And we see something different: companies that want to do the right thing — and don’t have the luxury of looking away.

While global giants plead complexity or scale, these teams roll up their sleeves and build systems that work.

The Problem Isn’t Capacity — It’s Incentive

When a billion-dollar company classifies a cash-heavy luxury market as “low risk,” it’s not a failure of detection. It’s a failure of will.

Small businesses can’t afford that kind of selective blindness. If a payment processor in Kenya or a digital wallet in Manila fails to screen a flagged name, the fallout isn’t a $1.9 billion fine (just 5 weeks profit for a global bank) with a rising stock price — it’s closure, reputational collapse, or worse.

The Stakes Are Different. And So Is the Mindset.

We’re seeing it firsthand:

• Fintechs building sanctions screening into onboarding

• Real estate companies asking for source of funds documentation

• Cross-border charities rolling out red flag training for staff

These aren’t well-resourced multinationals. They’re lean teams with tight budgets and a clear understanding: compliance isn’t optional — it’s survival.

Why We Built Anqa

We didn’t build Anqa for companies who can afford to ignore the rules. We built it for the ones who can’t.

For teams that need:

• Real-time screening tools that don’t break the budget

• AML frameworks that are practical and proportional

• Support in places where training is scarce and expectations are rising

We’re not here to replace judgment. We’re here to support it.

Final Thought:

If you want to understand why financial crime thrives, don’t just look at cartels or crypto scams. Look at the respectable players who profit from not asking too many questions.

And if you’re one of the teams trying to build something better — we see you.

Get in touch if you’d like to try Anqa’s compliance tools.