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OFAC Criminal Penalties
Penalty: $20M + 30 years
Criminal penalties for willful violations can reach $20 million for entities and 30 years imprisonment for individuals.
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.