As a traditional asset manager moved into tokenized and digital assets, Law & Forensics built the on-chain compliance, AML, and governance program that let the firm launch with regulators, custodians, and counterparties on side.
The situation
A registered asset manager with a long traditional track record decided to move into digital and tokenized assets. The investment thesis was clear; the compliance path was not. Nearly every control the firm relied on — KYC, AML, sanctions screening, custody, books-and-records — assumed a world of intermediated, off-chain transactions. Digital assets broke those assumptions. Wallets, on-chain counterparties, blockchain analytics, and private-key custody introduced risks the firm's existing framework simply did not address, and launching a product without a defensible answer invited regulatory, counterparty, and reputational fallout.
The firm engaged Law & Forensics to build that program — not as a theoretical policy binder, but as an operational capability ready for a real product launch.
Our approach
Law & Forensics combined digital-banking, investigations, and compliance expertise across parallel workstreams tied to the launch calendar:
On-chain monitoring and screening. The team designed and operationalized blockchain analytics for transaction monitoring, wallet and counterparty risk scoring, and on-chain AML and sanctions screening — extending the firm's financial-crime controls onto the chain.
Custody and key governance. Law & Forensics established controls and governance around digital-asset custody and private-key management, defining roles, segregation of duties, and recovery procedures appropriate to institutional standards.
Regulator-facing policy framework. The team authored the policies, procedures, and documentation needed to demonstrate a defensible program to examiners, mapping new digital-asset controls back to the firm's existing regulatory obligations.
Integration with existing compliance. Rather than build a parallel silo, Law & Forensics wove the digital-asset program into the firm's established compliance function so oversight, reporting, and escalation worked as one.
The impact
The firm launched its digital-asset strategy on a documented, operational compliance program. On-chain monitoring, custody governance, and AML controls gave the firm credible answers for regulators, custodians, and institutional counterparties — turning a category of novel risk into a managed, governed part of the business.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Compliance program scope | End-to-end, on-chain to governance |
| On-chain AML and sanctions screening | Operationalized at launch |
| Custody and key governance | Documented controls established |
| Launch readiness | Regulator- and counterparty-ready |
