By ยท ยท last updated 2026-08-06

How Sanctions Screening Actually Works

The mechanics of sanctions screening: exact wallet matching, fuzzy name matching, jurisdiction checks, and the 100 ms decision path.

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Screening sounds like a lookup. It is a decision path with three surfaces, each with different mechanics.

Surface 1: Wallets (exact)

An address is either on the list or not. Exact matching is deterministic โ€” no ambiguity, no false positives. 947 OFAC-listed wallets, matched byte-for-byte.

Surface 2: Names (fuzzy)

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19,218 SDN names, matched with fuzzy logic: transliteration, aliases, partial matches. This surface trades precision for recall โ€” false positives are the design, and a review queue is the answer.

Surface 3: Jurisdictions (comprehensive)

16 comprehensively embargoed jurisdictions. The counterparty's geography is screened independently of wallet and name.

The decision path

One call, all three surfaces, under 100 ms: sanctions_check returns clean or match with the matched list entry and version. That result is the gate โ€” and the audit log is the receipt.

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