Anti-money laundering (AML) solution provider, SmartSearch, has hailed 2020 as its most successful year in its history, with double digit boosts in sales and profits.

The Ilkely based firm saw sales rise by 13.5% over the course of the year and net profits up by almost a third at 28%.

In addition, SmartSearch brought on 840 new customers taking its total base to more than 5,000 client customers, with 45.000 users of its digital platform.

It also opened its first office outside the UK, in the US.

SmartSearch CEO, John Dobson (pictured), said: “Clearly it was a year like no other and while we had been growing successfully year-on-year prior to 2020, the business really went up another level. As we said at the outbreak of coronavirus, an event of this magnitude will provide opportunities for unscrupulous criminals and professional enablers to commit fraud when collectively our guard is down.

“At SmartSearch we were able to respond to that demand very quickly and built new concept products such as the award-winning TripleCheck, which combines three highly sophisticated verification methods to set a new standard in AML security.

“But we also ensure our high standard of customer service is maintained at all times, with the focus on making the tech simple to operate for the end-user.

“The property sector has always been a prime target for money laundering and the pandemic exacerbated that because brokers and estate agents were still relying on manual ID checks when onboarding new customers, which is wide open to abuse.

“We developed the most robust and comprehensive verification system on the market, a one-stop-shop that provides a secure, digital solution. By moving to electronic verification there’s no need to meet people in person, which makes it efficient as well as covid-secure.

“By doing a smartsearch you get access to the most extensive databases in the world, with results back on individuals in just two seconds, and under three minutes for a business search.”