Check a potential sanctions-list match.

Step-by-step method

A reproducible path from question to conclusion.

1. 1

   Define the transaction

   Record the contracting and paying parties, countries involved, goods or services and required decision. Name screening does not cover every potentially applicable restriction.

2. 2

   Identify the exact entity

   Obtain the legal name, known aliases and available company identifiers. For a person, compare only necessary, lawfully obtained information. Preserve discrepancies rather than removing them.

3. 3

   Use current sources

   Consult official portals for the selected regimes. The UK Sanctions List has been the current UK source since 28 January 2026; the former OFSI consolidated list is no longer updated.

4. 4

   Assess each candidate

   Compare names, aliases, countries and published identifiers. Record agreements and contradictions. A fuzzy score assists name searching; it is not a legal assessment.

5. 5

   Document and refer

   Retain the result and associated text. Refer unresolved matches, ownership or control issues and transaction restrictions to compliance or qualified counsel before proceeding.

Different lists have different scopes

The EU consolidated financial sanctions list supports research into persons, groups and organisations subject to those measures. Read it alongside published legal acts and relevant sectoral restrictions. No match in that list is not an exhaustive check of EU restrictions.

The OFAC tool compares names against SDN and consolidated non-SDN lists. Fuzzy searching can return a namesake. Retain the settings and do not interpret a displayed score as the probability that your counterpart is the designated person.

Keep matches and contradictions together

Create a row for each candidate: source, list identifier, searched name, aliases, country, matching elements, contradictions and resolution status. Two transliterations do not automatically identify two different people.

A matching company identifier can strengthen a match; identical names with incompatible identifiers can suggest a namesake. Missing information remains explicitly unknown. Request the relevant document through an appropriate channel rather than filling gaps by assumption.

Date the decision and define review triggers

Record consultation time, available list date or version and associated legal text. Separate designation date from the date you found it. State which regimes were examined and which were outside scope.

A new counterpart or change in ownership, country, payment route or service can justify another check. Assign an owner and a review trigger suitable for the case instead of inventing a universal interval.

Produce a usable decision record

The note may state: no match identified within the named lists and settings; potential match unresolved; or documented match referred for assessment. It must also describe search limitations and remaining transaction checks.

Search results do not replace applicability, ownership and control, exception or licence assessments. Sensitive decisions require the responsible function and current legal texts.

Common pitfalls

Four shortcuts that weaken the result.