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If you’re not screening customers, suppliers, or end-users, you’re not compliant. You’re exposed.
Why Screening Matters More Than Ever
In today’s trade environment, it’s not just what you ship—it’s who you’re shipping to, who’s receiving it, and how it’ll be used.
With export control violations rising and global sanctions lists updating weekly, denied party screening (DPS) isn’t a best practice—it’s a legal obligation.
Skip it, and you’re risking:
- Fines
- Shipment seizures
- Criminal penalties
- Reputational damage
What Is Denied Party Screening?
Denied Party Screening (DPS) is the process of checking your transactions against global lists of:
- Sanctioned individuals and entities
- Blocked countries and regions
- Restricted uses (e.g., military end use)
These lists are maintained by:
- U.S. OFAC (SDN List)
- U.S. BIS (Entity List, Unverified List)
- U.S. State Dept. (DTC Debarred List)
- EU Consolidated Sanctions List
- UN Security Council Sanctions
- APEC, UK, Japan, Canada, etc.
You must screen:
- Customers
- Vendors
- Freight forwarders
- End users
- Shipping destinations
- Financial intermediaries
Who’s Liable?
You are.
It doesn’t matter if the violation was accidental. Under strict liability, even an unintentional shipment to a blocked party can trigger enforcement.
If you're exporting U.S.-origin items, even from overseas, you’re still subject to U.S. rules.
What Gets You Penalized
Who Needs to Screen?
- Exporters / Importers
- OEMs shipping internationally
- Freight forwarders & 3PLs
- Software providers (especially encryption)
- SaaS platforms with global users
- Banks, insurers, and fintech firms
- Any U.S. or foreign company using U.S.-origin items
If your compliance team doesn't know what lists you're screening against or how often, you're already at risk.
How Screening Should Work
What to Screen:
- Company name
- Individuals (directors, UBOs)
- Country of destination
- End-use declarations
When to Screen:
- At customer onboarding
- Before every shipment
- When supplier data changes
- Before any financial transaction
What to Keep:
- Screening logs
- Match resolution notes
- Timestamped audit trail
How Acquis Automates Sanctions Screening
With Acquis, you can:
- Screen entities across 400+ global watchlists
- Automatically flag hits by confidence score
- Create a full audit trail for every shipment
- Tie screening into COO, ECCN, and HTS classification workflows
- Align with U.S., EU, and UN compliance frameworks
Want to avoid red flags before they cross your border? Talk to our compliance team →