Tool Un Sanctions

UN Consolidated Sanctions List

What it does

This tool screens counterparties, individuals, vessels, and aircraft against the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List — the authoritative multilateral sanctions database maintained by the UN Security Council Committee pursuant to its resolutions.

The UN list is the baseline for any sanctions screening regime. Every GCC central bank directly mirrors the UN Consolidated List:

• CBUAE (UAE Central Bank)
• SAMA (Saudi Central Bank)
• BDL (Banque du Liban — Lebanon)
• CBI (Central Bank of Iraq)
• CBK (Central Bank of Kuwait)
• CBO (Central Bank of Oman)
• CBB (Central Bank of Bahrain)
• QCB (Qatar Central Bank)

Accordingly, entities on the UN list are automatically blocked in all GCC jurisdictions. MENA-region compliance programs that screen only OFAC and EU lists but miss UN designations are non-compliant.

UN Sanctions Programs

The UN Security Council operates multiple sanctions programs:

For MENA-region transactions, the ISIL/Al-Qaida list and Yemen list are the highest-priority programs. The Iran program must be cross-referenced with OFAC, which has more comprehensive Iran sanctions.

Setup / auth

No API key required. The UN publishes its Consolidated List publicly:

• XML feed: https://scsanctions.un.org/resources/xml/en/consolidated.xml (updated as designations are added/removed)
• CSV/spreadsheet: available on the UN Security Council website
• RESTful API: via https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/un-sc-consolidated-list

The tool maintains a local cached copy refreshed at least daily. For real-time payment screening, the cache should refresh hourly.

Capabilities

Name screening

Input:  {
  name: "Mohammad Hassan Al-Zawahiri",
  nameAr: "محمد حسن الزواهري",
  dob: "1970-01-15",
  nationality: "EG",
  entityType: "individual"
}
Output: {
  hits: [
    {
      unId: "QDi.001",
      name: "ZAWAHIRI, Ayman Mohammed Rabie",
      programs: ["QDi"],
      aliases: [...],
      dob: "1951-06-19",
      nationality: "EG",
      score: 71
    }
  ],
  cleared: true,
  note: "Possible name-only partial match; DOB mismatch reduces confidence"
}

Entity screening

Input:  {
  name: "Al-Nusra Finance Ltd",
  entityType: "entity",
  country: "SY"
}
Output: { hits: [...], cleared: false }

Vessel screening

Input:  { imoNumber: "9320187", entityType: "vessel" }
Output: { hits: [...], flagState, operator }

IMO numbers are matched exactly for vessels. Vessel name matches are fuzzy.

Bulk screening

For KYC onboarding batches — screen a list of counterparties in a single call:

Input:  { batch: [{ name, dob, nationality }, ...] }
Output: { results: [{ input, hits, cleared }] }

Match rules

Arabic names present specific matching challenges:

Three-list screening standard

For any commercial transaction, the minimum standard is a three-list screen:

Additional lists for specific sectors:

• UK sanctions (OFSI list) — for UK-person nexus post-Brexit
• FATF grey/black list — country-level risk, not individual designation
• Local AML watchlists — SAMA / CBUAE / BDL internal lists (not public)

GCC central bank mirror requirement

GCC central banks issue circulars requiring all supervised financial institutions to:

1. Maintain current copies of the UN, OFAC, and EU lists
2. Screen all customers and transactions in real-time or near-real-time
3. Freeze assets of any designated person immediately upon designation
4. Report matches to the relevant FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit)

SAMA (KSA): AML/CTF Law and implementing regulations require list screening at onboarding and on an ongoing basis.

CBUAE (UAE): Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2020 (on Countering Money Laundering) and CBUAE AML/CFT Standards require financial institutions to screen against the UN list and implement automated transaction monitoring.

BDL (Lebanon): BDL Circular 126 requires banks to maintain and screen against UN, OFAC, and EU lists. Lebanon's FATF-flagged status means enhanced scrutiny from international correspondent banks.

Output schema

{
  "screeningId": "un-2026-05-14-001",
  "subject": {
    "name": "Mohammad Hassan",
    "dob": "1970-01-15",
    "nationality": "EG"
  },
  "hits": [],
  "cleared": true,
  "programs_checked": ["QDi", "ISTAQi", "Yemen", "Iran", "DPRK", "Libya"],
  "checkDate": "2026-05-14",
  "listVersion": "UN Consolidated List — 2026-05-10",
  "recommendation": "CLEAR — no UN consolidated list match found"
}

Failure modes

Related skills

• [[tool-ofac-sanctions]] — US Treasury OFAC SDN list; always run alongside UN list
• [[tool-ksa-moc]] — Saudi commercial registry for UBO chain verification
• [[tool-lb-commercial-register]] — Lebanon registry for UBO verification
• [[tool-uae-ded]] — UAE DED registry for UAE entity verification
• [[research-beneficial-ownership-lookup]] — UBO tracing to ensure full sanctions coverage