What is the OFAC SDN List?
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List is the consolidated list of individuals, entities, and vessels with whom US persons (and many non-US persons in transactions touching the US) are prohibited from dealing. Administered by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the SDN list is a central pillar of US economic sanctions enforcement. SDN designations freeze all US-jurisdiction assets and create derivative-name screening obligations under the 50% rule (entities 50%+ owned by SDN persons are themselves blocked).
SDN designation categories
- Country-based: Iran (SDGT, IRGC, IFSR), Russia (RUSSIA-EO14024), North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria.
- Topic-based: CYBER2 (cyber actors), NARCOTICS, TERROR (CT), TCO (transnational crime), DRCONGO, GLOMAG (Magnitsky), HUMAN-RIGHTS-EO13818.
- Sectoral: SDN-listed entities in specific sectors (oil, financial, defence) of sanctioned countries.
Compliance mechanics
- Screening: automated checks against SDN list at customer onboarding, transaction processing, and periodic re-screening.
- 50% rule: aggregate ownership rule — entities owned ≥50% (directly or indirectly) by SDN parties are blocked even without separate designation.
- Reporting: blocked-property reports to OFAC within 10 business days; annual blocked-property reports.
- License applications: general licenses for certain transaction categories; specific licenses on application.
- Voluntary self-disclosure: mitigation factor for violations; substantial penalty reductions.
Türk şirketleri için OFAC riski
Türk şirketleri OFAC SDN ile ABD-bağlantılı işlemlerde (USD takas, ABD bankası, ABD personel, ABD-kaynaklı teknoloji) ciddi riskle karşılaşır. ABD’de kayıtlı olmayan Türk şirketleri bile USD işlemler veya ABD pazarına satış yaptıklarında OFAC kapsamına girebilir — secondary sanctions ve correspondent banking erişimi kaybı risk taşır. Türk bankaları (Halkbank Reza Zarrab davası örneği) SDN screening uyumsuzluk maliyetlerini ağır şekilde öğrenmiştir. Pratikte tüm büyük Türk şirketleri otomatik SDN screening (LexisNexis, Refinitiv World-Check, Dow Jones Risk Center) entegre eder.
Do: implement real-time SDN screening at onboarding and transaction-level; apply 50% rule via beneficial-ownership lookup; train front-line staff on red flags.
Don’t: rely on country-level filtering alone — SDN designations include Turkish, EU, and other “non-sanctioned country” nationals; geographic screening misses individual-level designations.