The process of checking customers, counterparties, and transactions against government-maintained lists of sanctioned individuals, entities, and countries. Sanctions are imposed by bodies such as OFAC (U.S.), the EU, the UN, and HM Treasury (UK) to restrict financial dealings with designated parties involved in terrorism, proliferation, human rights abuses, or other threats. Effective sanctions screening requires real-time checks, fuzzy name matching, and robust alert management.