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Foreign Influence & Interference

Trace foreign state-directed investment, influence, and control.

Foreign influence operations run through layered corporate structures, undisclosed agents, and state-directed investment vehicles. Sayari maps the financial and ownership networks that connect activities to their foreign state sponsors.

1.5B+
Entity profiles
1.4M+
PEPs tracked
200+
Jurisdictions
3B+
Ownership links
Capabilities

What Sayari identifies in foreign influence investigations.

State-owned enterprise mapping

Identify when a nominally private entity is owned or controlled by a foreign state – even when that control is held through layered intermediaries specifically designed to obscure the relationship.

SOE detection · 250+ jurisdictions

Undisclosed foreign agent networks

Map the financial relationships between foreign principals and their U.S.-based agents – the kind of undisclosed influence network that regulatory frameworks aim to surface but rarely do.

Foreign influence detection

Foreign investment beneficial ownership

For CFIUS and FIRRMA purposes, trace the ultimate beneficial ownership of inbound investment – identifying foreign government control that deal documents don’t disclose.

CFIUS · FIRRMA support

Political exposure and PEP networks

Identify 1.4M+ Politically Exposed Persons and their financial networks – board seats, corporate ownership, family connections – across 250+ jurisdictions.

1.4M+ PEPs tracked

Covert influence tracing

Trace the entities behind influence operations back to their state-connected funding sources.

Ownership traversal · 3B+ links

Academic and research institution risk

Identify foreign state-connected funding, joint ventures, and technology transfer agreements at universities and research institutions that create national security risk.

Research security · DOD compliance
Who uses Sayari for foreign influence

Across government, compliance, and investigation teams.

Government

Law enforcement & intelligence

DOJ National Security Division, FBI counterintelligence, congressional investigations – tracing foreign influence networks to their state sponsors and financing sources.

Enterprise

M&A and investment due diligence

Identify foreign state-connected ownership in acquisition targets before CFIUS review. Avoid the post-deal discovery of a foreign government control issue that kills the transaction.

Investigations

Journalism & think tanks

Investigative journalists and policy researchers mapping foreign influence operations – tracing the financial networks connecting foreign states to their domestic proxies.

1.4M+
PEPs tracked across
250+ jurisdictions
3B+
Ownership links powering
SOE and state control detection
15+
U.S. agencies using Sayari
for national security missions
Foreign Influence FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

FOCI risk hides in multi-layered corporate structures – foreign government entities holding indirect ownership through subsidiaries, joint ventures, and investment vehicles. Sayari traces ownership chains through multiple degrees of separation, identifying foreign government connections that standard screening stops at the first degree, making it particularly effective for NISPOM compliance and DSS mitigation requirements.

Beyond direct sanctions and watchlist matches, Sayari identifies: state-owned enterprise (SOE) connections through indirect ownership chains, Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) entity relationships, undisclosed foreign principal connections, government-linked board members and directors, and investment patterns associated with adversary capital – intelligence that standard compliance databases do not provide.

CFIUS reviews require detailed corporate genealogy – mapping every entity in an ownership chain, identifying all foreign government connections, and documenting the ultimate source of capital. Sayari provides this analysis using primary-source corporate registry data across 250+ jurisdictions, generating the ownership maps and entity profiles that legal teams need for filing preparation and risk assessment.

Yes. China’s MCF strategy deliberately blurs the line between civilian and military enterprises. Sayari identifies MCF-linked entities through ownership chains, corporate officer connections, government funding patterns, and relationships with designated entities on the DoD 1260H list and the BIS Entity List – exposing connections that are invisible to name-based screening of direct counterparties.

State-owned enterprises often operate through layers of subsidiaries, joint ventures, and investment vehicles designed to distance the government connection from the operating entity. Sayari resolves these structures using primary-source corporate registry data, mapping ownership and control through every layer to reveal the ultimate government connection – whether it is one degree or ten degrees removed.

Regulatory Coverage & Use Cases

Foreign influence regulations and screening requirements.

CFIUS Screening
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review and investment screening.
NISPOM/FOCI
National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual foreign ownership, control, or influence.
NDAA Section 889
National Defense Authorization Act supply chain risk management for defense contractors.
ITAR Foreign Person
International Traffic in Arms Regulations foreign person controls and access restrictions.
DIB Executive Orders
Executive Orders on securing the defense industrial base from foreign influence.
Allied Investment
Allied-nation foreign investment screening frameworks and partner country requirements.
Foreign Influence Threat Categories

Screening and detection capabilities.

Chinese Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) Entity Screening
Identify entities connected to Chinese military-civil fusion programs, defense conglomerates, and state-backed technology acquisition. Sayari maps ownership relationships to military entities and government procurement networks that create foreign influence risk in defense and technology supply chains.
Russian State Enterprise Connections
Detect ownership links to Russian state enterprises, security services, and energy/defense state actors. Trace connections through intermediary jurisdictions to identify foreign control that creates counter-intelligence and FOCI risks in energy, defense, and critical infrastructure.
Adversary-Linked Investment Screening
Identify investment and acquisition activity by adversary-linked entities, venture capital fronts, and state-directed investment vehicles targeting sensitive U.S. technology, critical infrastructure, or defense capabilities. Essential for CFIUS review and anti-foreign-investment due diligence.
Defense Industrial Base FOCI Analysis
Support contractors and primes with FOCI mitigation planning and NISPOM compliance. Map ownership chains to identify foreign government control and state-owned enterprise relationships that require disclosure, mitigation, or contract restrictions.

Map the network behind the influence.

Request a demo. We’ll show how Sayari traces foreign state connections that corporate records and public filings don’t reveal.

Resources & Insights

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