Zakaria
93 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
# OFAC SDN — Specially Designated Nationals List
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## 1. Summary
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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) publishes the Specially Designated
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Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN). US persons are generally prohibited
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from dealing with individuals and entities on this list. Also published:
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non-SDN consolidated lists (BIS Denied Persons, FSE, etc.).
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## 2. Access Methods
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- **Full XML:** `https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdn.xml`
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- **Delimited:** `https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdn.csv`
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- **Consolidated:** `https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/consolidated/consolidated.xml`
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- **Auth:** None
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- **Rate limit:** None (static file downloads). Updated continuously.
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## 3. Data Schema
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Key fields emitted by `fetch_ofac_sdn.py`:
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| Column | Type | Description |
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|--------|------|-------------|
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| `entity_id` | int | OFAC unique ID |
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| `name` | str | Primary name |
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| `entity_type` | str | individual / entity / vessel / aircraft |
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| `program_list` | str | Semicolon-separated sanctions programs (e.g. SDGT;IRAN) |
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| `title` | str | For individuals: title/role |
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| `nationalities` | str | Semicolon-separated country codes |
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| `aka_list` | str | Semicolon-separated "also known as" names |
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| `addresses` | str | Semicolon-separated known addresses |
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| `dob` | str | Date of birth (individuals) |
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| `pob` | str | Place of birth (individuals) |
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| `remarks` | str | OFAC's free-text remarks |
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| `last_updated` | str | YYYY-MM-DD (publication date) |
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## 4. Coverage
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- Worldwide — all entities sanctioned by US Treasury
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- ~10,000 entries on SDN, ~15,000 on consolidated lists
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- Updated continuously (sometimes daily during active enforcement)
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- Includes AKAs (very common, can be 10+ per entity)
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## 5. Cross-Reference Potential
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- **SEC EDGAR** ↔ `name` (public companies sanctioned)
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- **USAspending** ↔ `name` (sanctioned entity as federal contractor — should
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be impossible but verify)
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- **ICIJ Offshore** ↔ `name` (offshore entities also sanctioned)
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Join key: normalized name. **CRITICAL**: must match against `aka_list` too.
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Many sanctioned entities are caught only via aliases.
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## 6. Data Quality
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- Names are transliterated from many scripts — multiple romanizations possible
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- AKAs often differ wildly from primary name
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- Some entries have minimal info (no DOB, no address) for individuals
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- Free-text `remarks` contain critical context — read them
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- "Specially Designated Global Terrorists" (SDGT) and "Cyber-related" (CYBER2)
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programs add and remove entries frequently
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## 7. Acquisition Script
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Path: `scripts/fetch_ofac_sdn.py`
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```bash
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# Full snapshot
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python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/fetch_ofac_sdn.py --out data/ofac_sdn.csv
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# Filter to specific program
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python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/fetch_ofac_sdn.py --program SDGT --out data/sdn_sdgt.csv
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# Entities only (skip individuals, vessels, aircraft)
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python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/fetch_ofac_sdn.py --entity-type entity --out data/sdn_entities.csv
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```
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## 8. Legal & Licensing
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- Public record under Executive Order authority and statutory sanctions programs
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- US persons MUST screen against this list — it is enforced
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- No restrictions on the data itself; restrictions are on transactions with
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the listed entities
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- ZERO penalty for "over-matching" — false positives must be cleared but are not
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prohibited
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## 9. References
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- OFAC home: https://ofac.treasury.gov/
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- SDN list: https://ofac.treasury.gov/specially-designated-nationals-and-blocked-persons-list-sdn-human-readable-lists
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- Data formats: https://ofac.treasury.gov/sdn-list/sanctions-list-search-tool
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- Compliance guidance: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions
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