Sanctions Screening: A Best Practice Guide

Managing SANCTIONS RISK has never been so complex

Sanctions lists are evolving constantly As governments increasingly rely on sanctions as a tool for political foreign policy, new entities are added to, and removed from sanctions lists, all of the time. Over the past 5 years, the average number of designated entities has increased significantly.

The nature of sanctions is becoming more complex Whereas they previously targeted only specific named entities (states, ships, aircraft, organisations and individuals), now narrative and sectoral sanctions have been introduced targeting specific sectors and prohibiting specific activities, which are more open to interpretation.

Sanctions aren’t limited to the entities themselves Organisations owned or controlled by sanctioned entities also need to be in scope of sanctions compliance programmes. Additionally, customers who aren’t sanctioned but have a relationship with a sanctioned entity could also present a risk.

There are multiple sanctioning bodies The multitude of sanctioning bodies, including sovereign states, regional unions and international organisations such as the UN, each publish their own sanctions – which don’t always align.