< Back to Glossary

What are Explicit Sanctions?

Last updated: 23 October 2026

What Are Explicit Sanctions?

Explicit sanctions are restrictions that apply to a person, company, vessel or other entity that is directly named on a government or international sanctions list. Being named means a firm must generally block or freeze the party’s assets and stop dealing with them, depending on the regime. Explicit sanctions are only part of the picture. Many parties are restricted without being named at all, because they are owned or controlled by a listed party, which is covered under implicit sanctions.

How do explicit sanctions work?

Authorities such as the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the European Union and the United Nations publish lists of designated parties. Designation typically triggers an asset freeze and a ban on providing funds or services, and some regimes add travel restrictions. In the US, OFAC applies strict liability to civil violations, so a firm can be penalized for dealing with a listed party even without knowing.

Which lists name explicit sanctions targets?

What is the difference between explicit and implicit sanctions?

Comparison Explicit sanctions Implicit sanctions
Definition The party is named on a sanctions list. The party is not named but is tied to a sanctioned party through ownership, control or association.
Where to find it Published sanctions lists. Ownership and control data, such as the 50 Percent Rule .
Detection Name matching against lists. Beneficial ownership analysis, entity resolution, and network analysis.

Why are explicit sanctions not the whole risk?

Matching names to a list is necessary, but it does not give you complete coverage. Listed parties often use aliases, transliterated names and changed spellings, and lists are updated frequently. A counterparty that passes a list check can still be blocked if a sanctioned party owns it. Explicit sanctions are also distinct from sectoral sanctions, which restrict specific activities or sectors and not a person as a whole.

How do you screen for explicit sanctions?

  1. Screen customers, beneficial owners and counterparties against current lists at onboarding and on an ongoing basis.
  2. Screen payments before they are released, using transaction screening.
  3. Use fuzzy matching to catch name variations, then resolve duplicates and related records with entity resolution.
  4. Re-screen automatically whenever a list changes.
  5. Record the rationale for every alert decision to support audit and regulatory review.

Effective name screening is the foundation, and AI can cut the false positives that make list matching slow. See how SymphonyAI's SRI screening supports this, or read our top 10 sanctions screening software comparison.

FAQs

Is an SDN listing the same as an explicit sanction?
An SDN listing is the US form of explicit designation. The UK, EU and UN each maintain equivalent lists.

Do explicit sanctions apply to companies as well as individuals?
Yes. Lists name individuals, companies, vessels, aircraft and other entities.

Do I need to screen for more than explicit sanctions?
Yes. Parties can be restricted through ownership and control without being named on a list, so ownership screening matters as much as list matching.

For more, see sanctions screening.

‍