UK Sanctions List – All you need to know

What is the UK Sanctions List?

The UK government publishes the UK Sanctions List, which lists the individuals and companies designated under regulations made pursuant to the Sanctions Act. It therefore lists companies and individuals subject to certain financial restrictions under the UK government’s counter-terrorism policy. It also includes individuals who have been banned by the European Union and the United Nations.

Money laundering and terrorist financing are the main criminal threats, which is what the list is intended to help against. Nevertheless, it also supports the containment of international arms proliferation, drug trafficking, treaty violations and human rights abuses.

The following activities are banned from the UK sanctions list:

• Having monetary transactions or connections with funds belonging to the named individuals.
• Providing indirect or direct economic resources to the named persons.

Which Information does the UK Sanctions List conain?

The sanctions list contains the names (and other identifying information) of individuals and entities currently on the UK sanctions list. The list also identifies which sanctions measures apply to these individuals or vessels and, in the case of designations by the United Kingdom, provides a rationale for the designation. Overall, it includes the following information:

• Full name
• Any known aliases
• Honorary, professional or religious titles
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Nationality
• Passport details
• National identification numbers (e.g. ID cards, Social Security Numbers, etc.)
• Address
• Any additional information that may be useful (e.g. nicknames, details of family, etc.)
• Title of the financial sanctions regime under which the designated person is listed
• The date when the designated person was added to the list by HM Treasury
• When the information regarding the designated person/entity was last updated by HM Treasury
• A unique ID reference number relating to the designated person/entity

Which Sanctions are included in the UK Sanctions List?

These UK sanctions list sanctions take the form of freezing assets and restricting market access. These are measures that are consistent with the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing policies and are aimed at deterring criminal behavior by regimes around the world.

• Targeted asset freezes: the UK freezes the assets of individuals or organizations and prevents them from accessing their assets, thereby avoiding risk
• Restrictions on a wide range of financial markets and services: Investment and access to capital markets by the individual or entity is prevented

Who must comply with the UK Sanctions List?

In general, all financial institutions in the United Kingdom are prohibited from doing business with UK Sanctions Lust companies and individuals. More specifically, the following must comply with sanctions regulations:

• Banks, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations or similarly obligated entities operating in the United Kingdom or incorporated under the laws of the United Kingdom
• British citizens and citizens of British overseas territories or persons protected by the U.K.
• Any person residing in the United Kingdom or subject to United Kingdom law

What if the UK Sanctions regulations are violated?

Prosecution of the guidelines is subject to the threat of criminal penalties. This is because serious violations of UK sanctions are punishable by fines. These can amount to 1 million pounds or 50% of the violation – whichever is greater. They are also punishable by specific criminal charges against senior executives.

Therefore, it is very important that companies ensure that the HM Treasury sanctions list is considered in their AML/CFT program in order to comply with the regulations. It is important that when new customers or clients are taken on, a list check is made to see whether sanctions have been imposed on them.

How do I find out if my client/partner is on the UK Sanctions List?

Basically, it is possible to download the complete UK sanctions list in different file formats. This means that these documents can actually be searched for the company or person to be checked. However, this is not recommended.

Sanctions lists are constantly changing. This makes it a big challenge to always ensure that they are up to date and keep up with the latest additions. Automated sanctions verification tools, on the other hand, ensure currency through automated technologies. They enable financial institutions and DNFBPs to ensure compliance and avoid penalties. As part of a risk-based AML/CFT program, a sanctions review tool can be used to quickly review relevant lists and immediately identify sanctioned customers.

How does DX Compliance can help?

DX Compliance is an AML and Compliance firm helping our clients identify, prevent and report financial crime. DX Compliance help Banks, FinTech’s and Payments Providers to continually monitor their risk and detect the threat of money laundering to ensure compliance and reduce fines.

Transaction monitoring also takes into account the sanctions imposed by the UK. This means that the information is checked and compared with the UK sanctions list. If there is a match, an alert is automatically issued for further review.

Furthermore, CheckAML is our ad-hoc PEP and Sanctions & Risk Analysis check tool which can be used for doing ad-hoc checks on potential clients. That means that it only takes a few seconds to check whether the person or organization is on the UK sanctions list.

Curious? Please contact our experts!