OFAC Specially Designated Nationals & Blocked Persons list
Issued by U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) (🇺🇸 United States).
OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list applies to any US person anywhere in the world, any person physically in the US, and any transaction touching the US financial system or US-origin goods. Secondary sanctions reach non-US persons who knowingly facilitate significant transactions with SDN targets — these are the teeth of the regime, used most aggressively against Iran, Russia, and DPRK programs. The 50-Percent Rule (FAQ 401) automatically blocks any entity owned 50% or more by one or more SDNs even if the entity itself isn't named. License paths: General Licenses (sectoral carve-outs published in the Federal Register), Specific Licenses (case-by-case OFAC application). Penalty: civil up to USD 1.6M per violation; criminal up to USD 1M and 30 years for willful violation under IEEPA.
Affected categories
- financial-services
- dual-use-technology
- oil-and-gas
- arms-and-defence
- luxury-goods
Licence / derogation path
Specific Licence (SL) or General Licence (GL) via OFAC Licensing Application Portal. Most prohibited transactions require case-by-case OFAC authorisation.