OFAC screening accuracy requirements
Screening accuracy is not a fixed number; it is about not missing a sanctioned party before a payment goes out.
TL;DR
TL;DR: There is no regulatory accuracy threshold for OFAC screening. The failure that matters most is a false negative, where a real Specially Designated National or blocked wallet slips through and a payment goes out.
Why false negatives matter
OFAC applies strict liability, meaning intent is not required. Missing an SDN even once can expose a business to civil penalties starting at $356,000 per violation. A false positive, where a clean party is blocked, is a nuisance and a support ticket. A false negative is a legal event that money has already left the door.
What accuracy means in practice
Accuracy means matching each counterparty against current data, because the SDN List changes regularly. sanctionsai.dev syncs hourly against 19,218 SDN names and 947 OFAC-listed crypto wallets across 16 jurisdictions, so a screen reflects fresh data rather than a stale snapshot.
How to think about it
- Screen every counterparty before payment, not after.
- Use hourly-synced data, because lists change between checks.
- Treat any flagged match as BLOCK and do not override it.
- Keep a record of each clean screen for your audit trail.