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The True Cost of OFAC Non-Compliance
Penalty: $356K+ per violation
Beyond fines, non-compliance brings legal costs, reputational damage, loss of banking access, and potential criminal charges.
How to protect yourself
Screen every transaction against the OFAC SDN list before funds move. sanctionsai.dev provides sub-100ms screening with an automatic audit trail.
curl "https://sanctionsai.dev/sanctions?wallet=0x098B716B8Aaf21512996dC57EB0615e2383E2f96"Free tier: 5 checks/day. No API key required.
Penalty mitigation
If you discover a potential violation, filing a Voluntary Self-Disclosure (VSD) with OFAC can reduce penalties by approximately 50%. sanctionsai.dev automatically logs every screening with timestamp and list version for your VSD evidence.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum OFAC penalty?
Civil penalties: $356,571 per violation or 2x the transaction value. Criminal penalties: up to $20 million and 30 years imprisonment for willful violations.
Does each transaction count as a separate violation?
Yes. Each transaction with a sanctioned party is a separate violation. A payment bot making 100 payments to one sanctioned wallet faces 100 violations.
Can screening reduce my penalty?
OFAC considers whether you had a compliance program in place. Implementing screening before a violation occurs demonstrates good-faith compliance and can significantly reduce penalties.