Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List)

The list is kept by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and covers targets under many programmes, such as terrorism, narcotics, cyber crime and particular countries. Each entry has a name, aliases, and where known, dates of birth, addresses, identification numbers, ship identifiers and the programme tag. A listed party’s property in the US or in the control of a US person is blocked, and US persons must not deal with it. Entities that listed parties own 50% or more of, in total, are also covered even if not named. Non-US firms screen against the list because their dollar payments pass through US banks, and because a breach can bring US penalties. OFAC also keeps other lists with narrower restrictions. A match against it is a legal event, not a data point, so it is among the most widely screened lists.

A fintech lender’s screening tool flags a new customer’s director as a possible match to an entry on the SDN List. The analyst compares birth date, nationality and passport number with the list details, finds a full match and tells the sanctions officer. The bank blocks the account, informs OFAC within the deadline, and ends the customer relationship.