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.


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