The Sanctions Acronym Bible: 100+ Terms Every Compliance Professional Should Know

COMPLIANCE TIPS & BEST PRACTICES

9/22/2025

If you work in financial services, corporate governance, or compliance, you’ve probably noticed one thing: sanctions are full of acronyms. Regulators, laws, lists, and processes all come with shorthand that can feel overwhelming to newcomers — and even to seasoned professionals.

This guide brings together the most important sanctions-related acronyms from across the globe, grouped by category. Think of it as your one-stop reference for decoding sanctions language.

1. Regulators & Authorities

These are some of the organisations responsible for designing, enforcing, and supervising sanctions regimes:

  • OFAC – Office of Foreign Assets Control (U.S.)

  • OFSI – Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (UK)

  • FCA – Financial Conduct Authority (UK)

  • HMT – HM Treasury (UK finance ministry)

  • DFAT – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)

  • GAC – Global Affairs Canada

  • SECO – State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Switzerland)

  • MAS – Monetary Authority of Singapore

  • HKMA – Hong Kong Monetary Authority

  • CBUAE – Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates

  • SAMA – Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority

  • CBK – Central Bank of Kuwait

  • FMSB – Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (Germany)

  • FinCEN – Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (U.S.)

  • BIS – Bureau of Industry and Security (U.S.)

  • DDTC – Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (U.S.)

  • SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S.)

  • CFTC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (U.S.)

  • FINTRAC – Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (Canada)

  • AUSTRAC – Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre

2. Sanctions Lists

Sanctions lists identify individuals, companies, and organisations subject to restrictions:

  • SDN – Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (U.S.)

  • SSI – Sectoral Sanctions Identifications List (U.S.)

  • CAPTA – Correspondent Account or Payable-Through Account List (U.S.)

  • NS-PLC – Non-SDN Palestinian Legislative Council List (U.S.)

  • UKSL – UK Sanctions List

  • CONSOL – EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List

  • OFAC 50% Rule – Entities owned 50%+ by SDNs are also blocked

  • FSE List – Foreign Sanctions Evaders List (U.S.)

  • DPL – Denied Persons List (U.S. export controls)

  • UVL – Unverified List (U.S. export controls)

  • MEU List – Military End User List (U.S.)

  • Entity List – BIS-maintained restricted parties list

  • EL – EU Entity List (export restrictions)

  • ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida List – UN terrorist sanctions list

  • 1718 List – UN sanctions list on North Korea

  • 2231 List – UN sanctions list on Iran

  • 1988 List – UN sanctions list for Taliban

  • 1267 List – UN consolidated terrorist sanctions list

  • UNSCR Consolidated List – Master UN sanctions list

  • CFSP Sanctions List – EU list under the Common Foreign and Security Policy

3. Laws & Legal Frameworks

The legal backbone of sanctions compliance:

  • SAMLA – Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (UK)

  • IEEPA – International Emergency Economic Powers Act (U.S.)

  • NEA – National Emergencies Act (U.S.)

  • CAATSA – Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (U.S.)

  • MAGNIT – Global Magnitsky Act (U.S.)

  • PEESA – Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act (U.S.)

  • ITAR – International Traffic in Arms Regulations (U.S.)

  • EAR – Export Administration Regulations (U.S.)

  • ECRA – Export Control Reform Act (U.S.)

  • BSA – Bank Secrecy Act (U.S.)

  • PATRIOT Act – U.S. anti-terrorism legislation with sanctions impact

  • FCPA – Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (U.S.)

  • ISA – Iran Sanctions Act (U.S.)

  • TRA – Trade Restrictions Act

  • SAMLA Regulations – UK secondary sanctions legislation

4. Compliance Processes & Screening

How businesses apply sanctions controls day-to-day:

  • AML – Anti-Money Laundering

  • CTF – Counter-Terrorist Financing

  • KYC – Know Your Customer

  • CDD – Customer Due Diligence

  • EDD – Enhanced Due Diligence

  • ODD – Ongoing Due Diligence

  • DD – Due Diligence

  • CIP – Customer Identification Program (U.S.)

  • RFI – Request for Information

  • SAR – Suspicious Activity Report

  • STR – Suspicious Transaction Report

  • CTR – Currency Transaction Report

  • RCA – Root Cause Analysis

  • SOW – Source of Wealth

  • SOF – Source of Funds

  • RBA – Risk-Based Approach

  • KYCC – Know Your Customer’s Customer

  • UWO – Unexplained Wealth Order (UK)

  • TFS – Targeted Financial Sanctions

  • FCP – Financial Crime Prevention

  • MLRO – Money Laundering Reporting Officer

5. International Bodies & Standards

Global organisations and networks shaping sanctions rules:

  • UN – United Nations

  • UNSCR – United Nations Security Council Resolution

  • FATF – Financial Action Task Force

  • EBA – European Banking Authority

  • ECB – European Central Bank

  • ESMA – European Securities and Markets Authority

  • APG – Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering

  • MENAFATF – Middle East and North Africa FATF

  • ESAAMLG – Eastern and Southern Africa AML Group

  • CFATF – Caribbean FATF

  • GAFILAT – Latin America FATF

  • MONEYVAL – Council of Europe’s AML/CTF experts

  • Egmont Group – Network of FIUs

  • FIU – Financial Intelligence Unit

  • OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

  • IMF – International Monetary Fund

  • WTO – World Trade Organization

  • WCO – World Customs Organization

  • OSCE – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

  • IAIS – International Association of Insurance Supervisors

  • IOSCO – International Organization of Securities Commissions

6. Technology & Payments

Technology and financial infrastructure affected by sanctions.

  • SWIFT – Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

  • CHAPS – Clearing House Automated Payment System (UK)

  • SEPA – Single Euro Payments Area

  • ACH – Automated Clearing House (U.S.)

  • CBDC – Central Bank Digital Currency

  • MT103 – SWIFT payment message type

  • KYT – Know Your Transaction

  • AI/ML – Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (in screening)

  • DLT – Distributed Ledger Technology (blockchain)

  • NFT – Non-Fungible Token (emerging sanctions risk)

  • VASPs – Virtual Asset Service Providers

Why This Matters

Sanctions acronyms aren’t just jargon, they’re the building blocks of global compliance. From laws like CAATSA to regulators like OFSI and lists like the SDN, each acronym signals a critical part of the compliance framework.

Understanding them allows professionals to:

  • Spot regulatory references instantly

  • Improve confidence in compliance conversations

  • Avoid costly mistakes when interpreting sanctions guidance

At Comply Sphere Advisory, we believe knowledge is compliance power. This Sanctions Acronym Bible is designed to give you quick clarity, whether you’re reviewing policy, onboarding clients, or responding to regulators.

Bookmark this guide and next time someone drops an acronym in a meeting, you’ll know exactly what it means.