OFAC SDN

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is part of the US Department of the Treasury, which administers and enforces sanctions based on US policy and security. The Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list is a data set containing individuals and companies that have been sanctioned by OFAC, and are therefore barred from working or doing business in the United States.

Employers that hire internationally, or have a high level executive hire on the horizon, need to perform proper due diligence when searching the OFAC SDN list. While it is a free tool, searches are done by name match, meaning false positives can occur frequently if your hiring team is unsure what they are verifying.

The search includes a confidence rating for each name, but without proper verification, hiring teams cannot be sure the data is accurate. Penalties for hiring or doing business with an SDN can result in fines ranging from a few thousand to potentially millions of dollars, and prison time.

Also, with the massive amount of data contained in the OFAC SDN list, each search needs to have an accompanying Program Code Key which correlates with a particular country or region around the world. Results will not appear on the correct individual or business without the proper program key. The OFAC SDN list can be a valuable tool when used correctly, however, it is not a substitute for more comprehensive sanction screening.

When facing the harshest penalties, making a business decision on incomplete data is not an option.