OFAC Strict Liability Glossary Part 1

What strict liability means under OFAC sanctions, and why it changes how agents must screen.

TL;DR

TL;DR: Strict liability means a sanctions violation can occur without intent or knowledge. A party can be penalized for a prohibited transaction even when it did not mean to break the rules.

What strict liability is

Strict liability is the legal doctrine under which OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, enforces sanctions. The violator's state of mind is not an element of the violation: you do not have to know the counterparty was blocked, or intend to violate sanctions, to be liable.

Why strict liability matters

Because intent is not required, "we did not know" is not a defense. A single payment to a blocked person or a listed wallet can trigger a civil penalty starting at $356,000 per violation. This is why prevention, not after-the-fact justification, is the only reliable strategy.

Strict liability and agent payments

An AI agent that pays on a user's behalf inherits this exposure. Payment rails such as x402, AP2, ACP, and Coinbase AgentKit move money but do not screen, so the agent must add screening itself. The sanctionsai.dev API screens a counterparty before payment and returns ALLOW or BLOCK in under 100 ms. Not documented: any case law specific to AI agent liability.