# OpenSanctions Sanctions & Watchlist Screener (`barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener`) Actor

Screen entity names and crypto wallet addresses against sanctions and watchlists: OFAC SDN by default plus EU, UK, UN and 470+ more lists. Each match comes with the list, confidence tier, programs, authorities and source links; every query that finds nothing gets an audit row.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener.md
- **Developed by:** [Philip Kirkbride](https://apify.com/barefoot_grade) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Sanctions & AML Screening with OpenSanctions Data

### Quick Start

Screen entity names and crypto wallet addresses against sanctions and watchlists — OFAC SDN by default, plus EU, UK, UN, and 470+ more datasets.
Built for AML checks, counterparty due diligence, and compliance audits.
Start with:

```json
{"queries": ["VTB Bank", "Lazarus Group", "0xE950DC316b836e4EeFb8308bf32Bf7C72a1358FF"], "datasets": ["us_ofac_sdn"]}
```

Screened against OpenSanctions official bulk data — no account or API key required.

### What you get

- One record per matched name or address: which lists matched, match confidence, programs, authorities, sanction reasons, and source URLs.
- An explicit no-match audit row for every query that found nothing — each query is accounted for.
- List data is downloaded once and reused by subsequent runs, refreshed on the schedule you set.

### Input

| Name | Type | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---:|---|
| `queries` | array | required | 1–500 entity names and/or crypto addresses (BTC/ETH/TRON/USDT/…). |
| `datasets` | array | `["us_ofac_sdn"]` | Up to 8 OpenSanctions datasets, e.g. `us_trade_csl`, `eu_fsf`, `gb_fcdo_sanctions`, `un_sc_sanctions`, or the consolidated `sanctions` merge. |
| `maxDatasetAgeHours` | integer | `168` | Reuse cached list data younger than this many hours; re-download when older. |
| `includeAliases` | boolean | `true` | Also match known aliases / AKAs of listed entities. |

### Output

Dataset fields: `recordKey`, `query`, `queryType` (`name`/`address`), `match`, `confidence` (`exact`/`alias`/`address`), `matchedName`, `caption`, `targetType` (Person, LegalEntity, Company, Organization, Vessel, CryptoWallet, Airplane), `lists`, `countries`, `topics`, `programs`, `authorities`, `sanctions` (per-list designation details with source URLs), `sourceUrl`, `entityUrl` (the OpenSanctions profile page), `publicKey`, `currency`, `holderName`, `datasetsMeta` (dataset provenance incl. upstream build time), `screenedAt`.

Example record:

```json
{"recordKey":"os:vtb-bank:NK-223CQDBzp8MRkdJMDiqXn3","source":"opensanctions-bulk","kind":"sanctions_screen","query":"VTB Bank","queryType":"name","match":true,"confidence":"exact","matchedName":"VTB Bank","caption":"Bank VTB Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obshchestvo","targetType":"Organization","lists":["us_ofac_sdn","eu_fsf"],"countries":["ru"],"topics":["sanction"],"programs":["US-UKRRUS-REL"],"sanctions":[{"program":"US-UKRRUS-REL","authority":["Office of Foreign Assets Control"],"sourceUrl":["https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=17013"]}],"entityUrl":"https://www.opensanctions.org/entities/NK-223CQDBzp8MRkdJMDiqXn3","screenedAt":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z"}
```

The run summary in the default key-value store reports status, per-dataset freshness, matched and unmatched query counts, rows by confidence tier, and warnings naming the queries with no match.

### FAQ

**How does matching work?** Deterministic tiers: exact name, known alias/AKA, or wallet address. There is no fuzzy scoring — near-misses come back as no-match rather than as low-confidence hits.

**How fresh are the lists?** Every record carries the upstream build time of the list data it was screened against. Cached runs screen the cached build; control refresh with `maxDatasetAgeHours` (default one week).

**Which lists can I screen against?** Any of the 470+ OpenSanctions datasets — OFAC SDN by default, plus EU FSF, UK FCDO, UN Security Council, the US trade consolidated list, or the full consolidated `sanctions` merge (a much larger download: give that run more memory and time).

**Are wallet addresses matched exactly?** Hex (`0x…`) and uniformly-cased bech32 addresses match case-insensitively; base58 (BTC/TRON) is case-sensitive — screen the exact address you transact with.

**What does a no-match mean?** No match in the selected datasets at their build time. It is audit evidence — never clearance or proof of sanction absence.

### Support

For questions or issues, contact Apify Support from the Actor page and include the run URL.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Entity names (case-insensitive, aliases matched as their own tier) and/or crypto addresses (0x…, bc1…, base58 BTC/LTC/TRON — case-insensitive) to screen against the selected sanction datasets.

## `datasets` (type: `array`):

OpenSanctions dataset names to screen against (any of the 470+ in the catalog; see https://data.opensanctions.org/datasets/latest/default/index.json). Default: US OFAC SDN. Verified-catalog picks: us_ofac_sdn, us_trade_csl, eu_fsf, gb_fcdo_sanctions, un_sc_sanctions, sanctions (consolidated, ~354 MB — use a higher memory run).

## `maxDatasetAgeHours` (type: `integer`):

The bulk dataset is downloaded once and cached in the Actor's key-value store; runs younger than this reuse the cached copy. Re-fetches when older.

## `includeAliases` (type: `boolean`):

Also match known aliases / AKAs (confidence tier 'alias'). Turning this off matches primary names only.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "VTB Bank"
  ],
  "datasets": [
    "us_ofac_sdn"
  ],
  "maxDatasetAgeHours": 168,
  "includeAliases": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "VTB Bank"
    ],
    "datasets": [
        "us_ofac_sdn"
    ],
    "maxDatasetAgeHours": 168,
    "includeAliases": true
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "queries": ["VTB Bank"],
    "datasets": ["us_ofac_sdn"],
    "maxDatasetAgeHours": 168,
    "includeAliases": True,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "VTB Bank"
  ],
  "datasets": [
    "us_ofac_sdn"
  ],
  "maxDatasetAgeHours": 168,
  "includeAliases": true
}' |
apify call barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,barefoot_grade/opensanctions-screener"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/VteZC33CxVJGbhVXI/builds/WggErXn6VEORm0whg/openapi.json