How to perform OFAC sanctions screening
Perform screening by collecting identifiers, checking them against lists, scoring risk, then allowing or blocking and recording.
TL;DR
TL;DR: To perform OFAC screening, gather the counterparty identifiers, check them against the SDN List and OFAC-listed wallets, score the risk, then allow or block the transaction and record the decision.
Step by step
- Collect identifiers: the counterparty name, wallet address, or jurisdiction.
- Check against lists: compare against SDN names and OFAC-listed wallets.
- Score risk: flag partial or near matches for closer review.
- Decide: clean means ALLOW, flagged means BLOCK.
- Record: stamp the decision into a log for audit.
Match on what
Screening should check all three identifier types, not just names. The live data covers 19,218 SDN names, 947 OFAC-listed crypto wallets, and 16 jurisdictions, synced hourly. A name-only check would miss a listed wallet address, which is a common gap in crypto payment flows.
Automate it
Doing this by hand does not scale. The same process runs as a single HTTP call that returns a decision in under 100 ms, following the 4-Gate protocol (SCREEN, SCORE, STOP, STAMP). Start on the free tier and move to a paid plan as volume grows.