UK OFSI Screening API

Screen individuals and entities against the UK's Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets — the primary sanctions register for the United Kingdom's independent sanctions regime.

About the OFSI Consolidated List

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), a division of His Majesty's Treasury, maintains the UK's Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets. Following Brexit, the UK established its own autonomous sanctions framework under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA), separating from the EU sanctions regime it had previously followed. OFSI is responsible for implementing and enforcing financial sanctions within the UK, and the Consolidated List serves as the authoritative registry of all designated persons subject to UK asset freezes.

The UK sanctions regime now operates independently of both the EU and the United States, though there is substantial overlap in designations — particularly regarding Russia, Belarus, Iran, and North Korea. However, the UK has also made autonomous designations that diverge from other jurisdictions, reflecting its own foreign policy priorities. The legal instruments underpinning UK sanctions include country-specific regulations (such as the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019) and thematic regulations targeting activities like cyber operations, corruption, and human rights abuses under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 and the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.

Each entry on the OFSI Consolidated List includes the designated person's name, aliases, date of birth, nationality, address, and the specific sanctions regime under which they are listed. OFSI also provides a unique Group ID for each designated person, which helps distinguish between entries and track changes over time. The list is published in multiple formats including XML, CSV, and a searchable online database, and is updated regularly — often within hours of a new designation being announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Why OFSI Screening Matters

OFSI has the power to impose monetary penalties on a strict civil liability basis for breaches of financial sanctions. This means that intent or knowledge is not required — an inadvertent breach can still result in a penalty. Since 2021, OFSI can impose penalties of up to GBP 1 million or 50% of the estimated value of the breach, whichever is greater. For serious or systemic breaches, there is no upper cap on the penalty amount. Criminal prosecution for sanctions evasion can result in up to seven years' imprisonment under SAMLA.

OFSI has become an increasingly active enforcer. It publishes an annual review detailing the number of suspected breach reports received (over 600 per year in recent reports), investigations opened, and penalties imposed. The UK's position as a major international financial center — with London processing trillions of pounds in transactions daily — means that any institution routing payments through the UK financial system must screen against the OFSI list, regardless of where that institution is headquartered.

Who Needs to Screen

• UK-regulated banks, building societies, and credit unions
• Payment institutions and electronic money firms authorized by the FCA
• Insurance companies and Lloyd's of London syndicates
• Investment managers and wealth advisors operating in the UK
• Crypto-asset firms registered with the FCA
• Legal professionals handling client funds through IOLTA accounts
• Estate agents, high-value dealers, and trust or company service providers
• Any company processing GBP-denominated transactions or using UK correspondent banking

How Veridex Screens the OFSI List

Veridex maintains a continuously updated mirror of the OFSI Consolidated List, ingesting changes within minutes of OFSI publication. Our engine normalizes the various name formats used in UK designations, handles British English transliteration conventions (which sometimes differ from US conventions), and cross-references OFSI Group IDs for precise entity resolution. Every API response includes the specific UK sanctions regime, the statutory instrument reference, and all known aliases and identifying data published by OFSI.

Sample Screening Result

Below is an example API response showing a match against a publicly known OFSI-designated individual.

// POST /v1/screen
{
  "query": "Alisher Usmanov",
  "lists": ["UK_OFSI"],
  "hits": [
    {
      "list": "UK_OFSI",
      "entity_name": "USMANOV, Alisher Burkhanovich",
      "type": "Individual",
      "score": 0.97,
      "programs": ["Russia"],
      "aliases": [
        "Alisher Burhanovich USMANOV",
        "Alisher USMONOV"
      ],
      "remarks": "DOB 09 Sep 1953; nationality Uzbekistan/Russia; Group ID 14045",
      "ofsi_group_id": "14045",
      "match_basis": "exact_name"
    }
  ],
  "screened_at": "2026-04-08T12:00:00Z",
  "latency_ms": 44
}