How Do You Research a Business or Company Using OSINT?
Max Intel's Business Search investigates any company across 55+ corporate registries, financial databases, and investigative tools from a single search. Corporate due diligence follows frameworks established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and is required under FinCEN's Corporate Transparency Act (effective 2024).
Corporate Registries
Official corporate registration data is available through OpenCorporates (the world's largest open database of companies, indexing over 220 million companies from 140+ jurisdictions), LEI Search (Legal Entity Identifiers), Companies House (UK), EU Business Register, North Data (Europe), and Handelsregister (Germany). These registries provide incorporation details, registered addresses, officer names, and filing history.
Financial Data & SEC Filings
For publicly traded companies, SEC EDGAR — the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system — provides free access to all regulatory filings from over 12,000 publicly traded companies including annual reports, quarterly financials, and insider trading disclosures. Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, and MarketWatch provide market data, financial statements, and analyst coverage. Dun & Bradstreet provides business credit reports and company profiles.
Investigative & Ownership Research
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Offshore Leaks database reveals hidden company structures from the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, and other major leak investigations. OCCRP Aleph aggregates investigative journalism data. LittleSis maps connections between powerful people and organizations. OpenSanctions checks companies against global sanctions and watchlists. These tools are essential for due diligence and anti-money laundering investigations.