sanktionslisten-screening

/aussenwirtschaft-zoll-sanktionen:sanktionslisten-screening

Purpose

The skill structures the legal assessment of a possible hit on an EU sanctions list, from the false-positive review through freezing to the reporting obligation to the competent authorities. It addresses the prohibition on making available (directly/indirectly), the term "economic resource" and the interface with money laundering law (KYC under §§ 10 et seq. GwG). Criminal liability under § 18 AWG must always be considered.

Inputs

Hit data: name, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, if applicable address, if applicable function
Source of the hit: screening tool, list (consolidated EU list, national list, if applicable UK OFSI, US SDN), as-of date
Business context: onboarding / ongoing relationship / individual payment transaction / delivery
previous contact with funds/economic resources of the potentially listed person (frozen accounts, outstanding deliveries, holdings)
group affiliation (majority holding / control within the meaning of the sanctions regulation)

Sub-agent architecture

Researcher provides the relevant sanctions regulation (with as-of date), list entry, CJEU/General Court case law on listing/prohibition on making available (Kadi, Rosneft) and commentary references. Drafter carries out the false-positive assessment, the prohibition on making available review and the draft notification. Reviewer checks whether the BLOCKER note (§ 18 AWG) has been set, freezing has been documented and reporting obligations have been observed.

Process

1. Initial hit assessment – false positive vs. genuine hit

Comparison of several identifiers with the list entry:

Identifier	Minimum standard
Name (including aliases, transliteration)	Standard match
Date of birth / place of birth	Mandatory match
Nationality	Mandatory match
Address	Mandatory match, insofar as available
Passport/identity card number	if noted in the list
Function / position	for PEPs / politically exposed persons

Result: False positive (document, close the file, do not send the notification) — Suspicion situation (further clarification of the facts) — genuine hit (stop + freezing + notification).

Note: Sanctions lists are frequently weekly updated. Always document the assessment with the as-of date of the list.

2. Prohibition on making available

The relevant sanctions regulation typically contains a dual prohibition in Art. 2:

Freezing requirement for all funds and economic resources that belong to, are owned, held or controlled by the listed person.
Prohibition of provision – Funds or economic resources may not be made available to the listed person neither directly nor indirectly or benefit them.

"Indirectly" is to be interpreted broadly: This covers in particular control and majority shareholding constellations — rule of thumb of the EU Commission: > 50% shareholding or actual control by a listed person also triggers the restrictions for the non-listed vehicle itself (EU Commission, FAQ on Russia sanctions [unverifiziert – prüfen]).

"Economic resource" is any asset other than money that can be converted into money or goods (Art. 1 lit. d of typical sanctions regulations).

3. Freezing and immediate stop of business

In the event of a true match:

Immediate stop of any provision (deliveries, payments, services)
Freezing of all assets due to the listed person
No termination of existing contractual relationships without official authorization — termination can indirectly constitute provision
Documentation of the measure, access restriction in the internal system

4. Reporting obligations

Occasion	Addressee	Legal basis
Freezing of funds	Deutsche Bundesbank (cash transactions, foreign payment transactions)	typically Art. 8 of the respective sanctions regulation + AWV
Freezing of economic resources	BAFA	typically Art. 8 of the respective sanctions regulation
Foreign trade nexus, export/import	General Customs Directorate / local main customs office	AWG / AWV / UZK
Suspicion of money laundering	FIU (Customs)	Section 43 GwG
List match with suspicion of criminal liability (Section 18 AWG)	Public Prosecutor's Office	StPO

Deadline: Without undue delay, as a rule without culpable delay (Section 121 BGB by analogy) and with all available information.

5. Onboarding obligations and re-screening

When onboarding a new business partner (B2B/end customer/intermediary): screening against the consolidated EU list before conclusion of contract / execution of payment.
Ongoing re-screening at least upon every list update, sensitive sectors (banks, insurers, exporters with sanctions nexus) daily.
Risk-based approach (Section 10(2) GwG): frequency and depth depending on sector, third country, transaction volume, PEP status.
For beneficial owners (uBO, Section 3 GwG): screening at uBO level.

6. Interface between GwG (KYC) and Section 261 StGB

Sanctions list matches frequently overlap with:

Obligations under Sections 10 et seq. GwG (general/enhanced due diligence obligations), § 15 GwG (enhanced due diligence for high-risk third countries)
§ 261 StGB (money laundering offense) in the case of transfers that indirectly benefit listed persons
for banks additionally KWG supervisory law (BaFin)

→ if applicable, parallel application of the skill geldwaesche-aml-kyc.

Sources and citation style

Binding: ../../../references/zitierweise.md.

Primary and secondary law

Art. 215 TFEU
Regulation (EU) 269/2014 (Russia, personal listing)
Regulation (EU) 833/2014 (Russia, sectoral sanctions)
Regulation (EC) 2580/2001 (terrorism)
Regulation (EC) 881/2002 (Al-Qaida)
Regulation (EU) 267/2012 (Iran)
Regulation (EU) 2017/1509 (DPRK)
AWG – in particular § 18
AWV – reporting obligations
GwG – §§ 10 et seq.

Official sources

Consolidated EU sanctions list (Financial Sanctions File / EU Sanctions Map sanctionsmap.eu), as of: <Datum eintragen>
BAFA leaflet "Financial Sanctions"
Deutsche Bundesbank, leaflet "Financial Sanctions / Embargoes"
BMWK notes on country-specific measures

Commentaries

Pelz, in: Hocke/Sachs/Pelz, AWG/AWV, as of 2024, § 18 AWG marginal no. 1 et seq.
Hindelang, in: Krenzler/Herrmann/Niestedt, EU Foreign Trade and Customs Law, as of 2024, Regulation 269/2014 marginal no. 1 et seq.
Pelz, AW-Prax (current volumes) – Russia sanctions.

Case law (`[unverifiziert – prüfen in curia.europa.eu / juris]`)

ECJ, judgment of 03.09.2008 – joined Cases C-402/05 P, C-415/05 P, Kadi I, ECLI:EU:C:2008:461 (procedural rights of listed persons) [unverifiziert – prüfen]
ECJ, judgment of 18.07.2013 – Case C-584/10 P et al., Kadi II, ECLI:EU:C:2013:518 [unverifiziert – prüfen]
ECJ, judgment of 28.03.2017 – Case C-72/15, Rosneft, ECLI:EU:C:2017:236 (interpretation of the Russia Regulation, prohibition on making available) [unverifiziert – prüfen]

Output format

COMPLIANCE-MEMO — Sanktionslisten-Treffer
Geschäftspartner: <intern. Kennung, nicht Klarname>
Stand der Liste: <Datum>

I. Trefferdaten
   - Name / Aliase:
   - Geburtsdatum / -ort / Staatsangehörigkeit:
   - Adressabgleich:
   - Liste / Eintrag-Nr. / Sanktions-VO:

II. Erstbewertung
    [ ] False positive — Begründung
    [ ] Verdacht — weitere Klärung
    [X] echter Treffer — Stopp + Frostung + Meldung
    Ampel: 🟢 / 🟡 / 🔴

III. Rechtliche Bewertung
     1. Anwendbare Sanktions-VO (mit Stand der Konsolidierung)
     2. Bereitstellungsverbot Art. 2
        - direkt:
        - indirekt (Kontroll-/Mehrheitsbeteiligung > 50 %):
        - wirtschaftliche Ressource:
     3. Frostung – Reichweite (Konten, Lieferungen, Dienstleistungen)
     4. Meldepflichten
        - Bundesbank (Geldverkehr): <ja/nein, bis wann>
        - BAFA (wirtschaftliche Ressourcen): <ja/nein>
        - Zoll/Generalzolldirektion: <ja/nein>
        - FIU (GwG-Verdacht): <ja/nein>
     5. Strafbarkeitsrisiko § 18 AWG
        (Freiheitsstrafe bis 5 Jahre, gewerbsmäßig bis 15 Jahre)

IV. Sofortmaßnahmen
    - Stopp aller Bereitstellungen
    - Frostung dokumentiert
    - Meldungen versandt

V. Wiedervorlage / Re-Screening
   - bei jeder Listenaktualisierung
   - nächste Prüfung: <Datum>

VI. Quellenverzeichnis

Risks / typical errors

False positive checked off too quickly without documented multi-identifier comparison → no exculpation in the event of a real match.
Indirect provision overlooked. A payment to an inconspicuous vehicle behind which a listed person holds > 50 % is likewise prohibited.
"Economic resource" understood too narrowly. Machines, deliveries, software licenses, IP rights are economic resources.
Forgot to report to the Bundesbank. Even if no payout is made, the freezing is subject to reporting.
List not up to date. Checking for matches against last month's list is worthless; always use same-day currency (or weekly currency for standard industries).
Contract termination "on gut instinct" can constitute an indirect provision — consult the authorities beforehand.
US SDN list treated as the German legal basis — wrong. US lists apply outside the EU; what is relevant is the consolidated EU list plus national measures. US lists merely as an additional risk indicator.
§ 18 AWG note is missing in the memo. Criminal liability must be clearly stated in order to hold management accountable.