Entity Screen

How public sanctions lists are searched, and a screening request when you want a second set of eyes.

Entity Screen

Adverse Media

Quick answer. Adverse media screening reads credible reports of crime, fraud, or corruption about a party. It is not an official government list and it is not an OFAC hit. Entity screening asks who the legal entity is, whether sanctions lists name it or its owners, and what credible public reporting says. Adverse media is not an OFAC list. Beneficial ownership is not the registered agent.

Official office

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Open the official search

Steps

  1. Identify the legal entity

    State, file number, status, date viewed.

  2. Screen names on OFAC

    Entity and people, separately, with the search date.

  3. Read adverse media as news

    Cite the original report. Ignore duplicate reposts.

  4. Ask for ownership documents

    Do not invent members from the registered agent.

Adverse media is news, not a list

Cite the article, the date, and the person the article actually names. A namesake in another country is the usual miss.

Do not treat a blog repost as a second independent allegation. Find the original report.

Separate the sources in the file

Pull the state file for the legal name, number, and status. Screen that name and the known owners in OFAC’s tool. Read adverse media as articles with dates, not as a second sanctions list. PEP screening looks for public roles under your policy.

Beneficial ownership comes from documents the company provides when the state file is silent. Federal BOI rules have changed. Read the current FinCEN page before you quote a filing duty. We do not submit that form.

Common mistakes

  • Rating a company from headlines alone.
  • Calling the agent the beneficial owner.
  • Merging PEP and SDN labels.
  • Quoting an outdated BOI deadline.

Questions

What is adverse media screening?

A review of credible reports about crime, fraud, or corruption. It is not an official sanctions list.

What is PEP screening?

A check for prominent public roles under your policy. It is not automatically a sanctions hit.

What is AML screening here?

The stack of sanctions, media or PEP checks you adopted, plus the legal-entity file. It is not a certificate of low risk.

Sources reviewed