BitGo — $98,307 OFAC Penalty (2021)
BitGo settled with OFAC for 183 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs.
Penalty amount: $98,307 · Year: 2021 · Enforcer: OFAC (US Treasury)
What happened
BitGo was penalized by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2021. The case is instructive for any organization handling cross-border payments, crypto transactions, or customer onboarding where sanctioned parties may be present.
Violations cited
- Processing transactions involving sanctioned addresses
- Failed to screen users from sanctioned jurisdictions
- No automated SDN list updates
- Lack of geolocation controls
Lessons for compliance teams
- Screen every counterparty wallet address
- Automated SDN list synchronization (daily)
- IP and wallet geolocation on every transaction
- Real-time alerting on potential matches
How this could have been prevented
In nearly every OFAC penalty case, the root cause is the same: inadequate or outdated sanctions screening. The sanctioned parties were on the SDN list at the time — they simply weren't caught. Real-time screening against the current SDN list, with proper name-matching and fuzzy logic, would have flagged most of these transactions before they completed.
Free screening: SanctionsAI provides a free OFAC sanctions screening API. Screen customers, wallets, and transactions against the SDN list in real time. Get API key →