# Global Sanctions Screening API - OFAC, EU, UK & UN Watchlists (`webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api`) Actor \[💵 $5.00 / 1K] Screen any person or company against the consolidated OFAC, EU, UK OFSI and UN sanctions lists in one call. Fuzzy name matching with scored, explained hits - or export the full normalized watchlist. Built from primary government sources, not a re-publisher. - **URL**: https://apify.com/webdata\_labs/sanctions-screening-api.md - **Developed by:** [WebData Labs](https://apify.com/webdata_labs) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Integrations - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 screening results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Global Sanctions Screening API - OFAC, EU, UK & UN Watchlists **Screen any person or company against the world's main sanctions lists in one call.** Paste a list of names and get a scored, explained match against the consolidated **US OFAC (SDN + non-SDN), EU, UK OFSI, and UN Security Council** lists - or switch to list mode and export the full normalized watchlist as one clean schema. Every sanctions authority publishes its list in a **different format** with a **different alias model**: OFAC ships flat CSV with names and aliases in separate files and the date of birth buried in free text; the EU and UN ship deeply nested XML; the UK ships a wide CSV where one entity is spread across many rows joined by a group ID. Most "OFAC scrapers" hand you one raw list. This Actor does the hard part: it pulls the **primary government sources**, normalizes all five into **one canonical entity** (primary name, every alias, type, programs, countries, dates of birth, IDs, listing date), and runs a **fuzzy matching engine** so reordered names (`Putin Vladimir`), transliterations, and subsidiaries (`Gazprombank JSC`) still surface - each with a similarity score, a match type, and the exact name it hit. ### ✅ What you get / ❌ what this isn't | This Actor gives you | This Actor is not | |---|---| | One call screens a name across five lists at once | Not a certified or complete compliance/KYC solution - it is a screening data tool | | Fuzzy matching with a score, match type, and the matched alias | Not legal advice or a regulatory sign-off | | Consolidated, normalized schema across OFAC, EU, UK, UN | Not affiliated with or endorsed by any government or authority | | Built from **primary** official sources, not a re-publisher | Not a guarantee of completeness - always confirm a hit against the official source | | `riskLevel` buckets (EXACT / HIGH / MEDIUM / CLEAR) for triage | Not a PEP, adverse-media, or credit/background service (sanctions lists only) | | Full-watchlist export mode for your own systems | Not real-time intraday - reflects each authority's published refresh | ### 🔎 Why use this Actor - Screen customers, vendors, counterparties, or payees against sanctions lists before onboarding or payment. - Batch-check an existing CRM, KYC queue, or supplier list in one run. - Get one **consolidated** answer instead of querying five government sites with five different formats. - Catch near-misses: reordered names, aliases, transliterations, and sanctioned subsidiaries. - Export the full normalized watchlist to power your own matching engine, dashboard, or model. - Skip the plumbing - downloading, parsing, alias-joining, and de-duplicating five sources is done. ### 👥 Who it's for - Fintech, payments, crypto, and lending teams running sanctions checks at onboarding. - Compliance, AML, and KYC analysts triaging names against OFAC/EU/UK/UN. - Procurement and vendor-onboarding teams screening suppliers and counterparties. - Marketplaces and platforms vetting sellers, partners, or high-value buyers. - Data teams that want one clean watchlist schema instead of five parsing projects. ### 🗂️ What data you get **Screen mode** - one row per name you submit: | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `query` | string | The name you screened | | `isMatch` | boolean | Whether any match cleared the threshold | | `riskLevel` | string | `EXACT` / `HIGH` / `MEDIUM` / `CLEAR` | | `bestScore` | number | Top similarity score (0-1) | | `matchCount` | number | How many list entities matched | | `matches[]` | array | Each match: `matchedName`, `score`, `matchType`, `sourceList`, `entityName`, `entityType`, `programs`, `countries`, `nationalities`, `datesOfBirth`, `sourceId`, `sourceUrl` | **List mode** - one row per consolidated watchlist entity: | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `sourceList` | string | `OFAC_SDN` / `OFAC_CONS` / `EU` / `UK_OFSI` / `UN` | | `entityType` | string | `PERSON` / `ORGANIZATION` / `VESSEL` / `AIRCRAFT` | | `primaryName`, `aliases[]` | string / array | Primary name plus every alias | | `programs[]` | array | Sanctions programs / regimes / reference numbers | | `countries[]`, `nationalities[]` | array | Associated countries and nationalities | | `datesOfBirth[]` | array | Dates or years of birth | | `ids[]` | array | Passport / national-ID numbers where published | | `addresses[]` | array | Addresses where published | | `listedOn` | string | Date listed | | `sourceId`, `sourceUrl` | string | Native source ID and the official list URL | ### Example tasks - [Screen a list of names against all sanctions lists](https://apify.com/webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api/examples/screen-names) - [Screen suppliers and counterparties before onboarding](https://apify.com/webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api/examples/screen-suppliers) - [Export the full consolidated sanctions watchlist](https://apify.com/webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api/examples/export-watchlist) ### ⚙️ How to screen names 1. Open the Actor on Apify. 2. Keep `mode` on `screen` and paste names into `names` (one per line). 3. Optionally pick which lists to load in `sources`, and tune `threshold` (85 is balanced). 4. Run the Actor and open the `Screening results` dataset view. 5. Export JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, or XML, or call the Actor through the Apify API. To pull the full watchlist instead, set `mode` to `list` and choose your `sources`. ### 📥 Input ```json { "mode": "screen", "names": "Vladimir Putin\nGazprombank\nAcme Coffee Roasters LLC", "sources": ["OFAC_SDN", "OFAC_CONS", "EU", "UK_OFSI", "UN"], "threshold": 85, "maxMatchesPerName": 10 } ```` ### 📤 Output ```json { "recordType": "screening_result", "query": "Vladimir Putin", "isMatch": true, "riskLevel": "EXACT", "bestScore": 1.0, "matchCount": 4, "matches": [ { "matchedName": "PUTIN, Vladimir", "score": 1.0, "matchType": "exact", "sourceList": "OFAC_SDN", "entityName": "PUTIN, Vladimir Vladimirovich", "entityType": "PERSON", "programs": ["RUSSIA-EO14024"], "sourceId": "39463", "sourceUrl": "https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/" } ] } ``` ### 💵 How much does it cost? The launch price is about `$5.00 / 1,000 results`, tier-discounted for higher Apify plans. In screen mode, one screened name is one charged result; in list mode, one exported watchlist entity is one charged result. A run screening 200 names is 200 results. ### 🔁 Run it on the Apify platform Schedule a recurring run to re-screen a customer or supplier list as the lists change, call it from the Apify API, export to CSV/JSON/Excel, or connect the dataset to Make, Zapier, webhooks, a warehouse, a case-management tool, or an LLM workflow. Each run loads the **current** published lists, so results stay fresh. ### ⚠️ Limits and caveats - **This is a screening data tool, not a certified compliance solution.** It does not replace a regulated KYC/AML program, legal review, or human adjudication. Always confirm any hit against the official source before acting. - **Sanctions lists only.** It does not cover PEP, adverse media, law-enforcement, or credit/background data. - **A match is a lead, not a verdict.** Fuzzy matching surfaces possible hits by name; common names will produce false positives that a human must clear, and the `threshold` controls that trade-off. - **Completeness is best-effort.** The Actor reads the published consolidated files; if an authority's endpoint is temporarily down, that source is skipped and noted in the run summary rather than failing the run. - Data reflects each authority's **published refresh cadence**, not intraday real time. - Non-Latin (e.g. Cyrillic, Arabic) primary names are preserved; matching works best on the Latin-script names and aliases each list provides. ### 🧩 Related Actors - EU Tenders API - normalized TED public procurement in one English schema. - Brazil CNPJ Company API - clean English firmographics for any Brazil CNPJ. - SEC Financials API - normalized income, balance sheet, and cash flow from EDGAR. - Lead List Deduplicator - CRM-ready dedup and normalization for lead lists. ### ❓ FAQ #### Which lists are covered? US OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), the OFAC Consolidated (non-SDN) list, the EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List, the UK OFSI Consolidated List, and the UN Security Council Consolidated List. You choose any subset with `sources`. #### Where does the data come from? Directly from each authority's **primary published file** (US Treasury, the EU, UK OFSI, and the UN), not from a third-party re-publisher. Each run downloads the current lists. #### How does the matching work? Names are normalized (de-accented, de-punctuated) and compared with a combination of exact, token-set, token-sort, and character-sequence similarity, so reordered names, aliases, and contained company names score high. Each match returns a score and a match type so you can triage. #### Will it produce false positives? Yes, by design - screening favors recall. Common names can match multiple list entries. Raise `threshold` for fewer, stronger matches; lower it for wider recall. A human should always review flagged names. #### Is this enough to meet my compliance obligations? No. This Actor is a data and screening tool. It is not a certified compliance product, not legal advice, and not a substitute for a regulated KYC/AML process. Use it as one input and confirm hits against the official source. #### Does it need a proxy? No. All sources are public official government files served reliably to datacenter IPs. Enable Apify Proxy only if you hit a network issue. ### 🛠️ Support For bugs, missing fields, or a feature request, open an Actor issue with the run URL, the names or sources used, and the field or behavior you expected. ### ⭐ Rate this Actor If this Actor saved you time, please take 30 seconds to leave a review on the **Reviews** tab of [Global Sanctions Screening API - OFAC, EU, UK & UN Watchlists](https://apify.com/webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api) - reviews are the main trust signal other users see, and they directly decide which features get built next. If something is broken or a field is missing, please [open an issue](https://apify.com/webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api/issues) first - we typically respond within a day and would love the chance to fix it before you rate. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): screen = check your names against the lists and return scored matches (the default). list = export the full normalized consolidated watchlist. ## `names` (type: `string`): Person or company names to check, one per line (or a JSON array). Used in screen mode. Each name returns one result row with its scored matches across all selected lists. ## `sources` (type: `array`): Which sanctions lists to consolidate. Defaults to all five (OFAC SDN, OFAC consolidated, EU, UK OFSI, UN). ## `threshold` (type: `integer`): Minimum similarity (0.5-1.0) for a name to be reported as a match in screen mode. 0.85 is a balanced default; raise toward 1.0 for fewer false positives, lower for wider recall. ## `maxMatchesPerName` (type: `integer`): How many top scored matches to return for each screened name (screen mode). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Safety cap on how many entities to export in list mode. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional. All sources are official public government files that work without a proxy; enable Apify Proxy only if you hit a network issue. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "screen", "names": "Vladimir Putin\nGazprombank\nIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\nAcme Coffee Roasters LLC", "sources": [ "OFAC_SDN", "OFAC_CONS", "EU", "UK_OFSI", "UN" ], "threshold": 85, "maxMatchesPerName": 10, "maxItems": 5000, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `OUTPUT` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "names": `Vladimir Putin Gazprombank Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Acme Coffee Roasters LLC` }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "names": """Vladimir Putin Gazprombank Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Acme Coffee Roasters LLC""" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "names": "Vladimir Putin\\nGazprombank\\nIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\\nAcme Coffee Roasters LLC" }' | apify call webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=webdata_labs/sanctions-screening-api", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Global Sanctions Screening API - OFAC, EU, UK & UN Watchlists", "description": "[💵 $5.00 / 1K] Screen any person or company against the consolidated OFAC, EU, UK OFSI and UN sanctions lists in one call. Fuzzy name matching with scored, explained hits - or export the full normalized watchlist. Built from primary government sources, not a re-publisher.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "U6dRkDVpAoiJQkCrT" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/webdata_labs~sanctions-screening-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-webdata_labs-sanctions-screening-api", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/webdata_labs~sanctions-screening-api/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-webdata_labs-sanctions-screening-api", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/webdata_labs~sanctions-screening-api/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-webdata_labs-sanctions-screening-api", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "screen", "list" ], "type": "string", "description": "screen = check your names against the lists and return scored matches (the default). list = export the full normalized consolidated watchlist.", "default": "screen" }, "names": { "title": "Names to screen", "type": "string", "description": "Person or company names to check, one per line (or a JSON array). Used in screen mode. Each name returns one result row with its scored matches across all selected lists." }, "sources": { "title": "Lists to load", "type": "array", "description": "Which sanctions lists to consolidate. Defaults to all five (OFAC SDN, OFAC consolidated, EU, UK OFSI, UN).", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "OFAC_SDN", "OFAC_CONS", "EU", "UK_OFSI", "UN" ], "enumTitles": [ "US OFAC - SDN", "US OFAC - Consolidated (non-SDN)", "EU Consolidated", "UK OFSI Consolidated", "UN Security Council" ] }, "default": [ "OFAC_SDN", "OFAC_CONS", "EU", "UK_OFSI", "UN" ] }, "threshold": { "title": "Match threshold", "minimum": 50, "maximum": 100, "type": "integer", "description": "Minimum similarity (0.5-1.0) for a name to be reported as a match in screen mode. 0.85 is a balanced default; raise toward 1.0 for fewer false positives, lower for wider recall.", "default": 85 }, "maxMatchesPerName": { "title": "Max matches per name", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50, "type": "integer", "description": "How many top scored matches to return for each screened name (screen mode).", "default": 10 }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max watchlist rows", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 60000, "type": "integer", "description": "Safety cap on how many entities to export in list mode.", "default": 5000 }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy", "type": "object", "description": "Optional. All sources are official public government files that work without a proxy; enable Apify Proxy only if you hit a network issue.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": false } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```