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What sanctions screening is
Sanctions and watchlist screening is the process of checking a customer’s name (and often related parties) against government and international sanctions lists, along with Politically Exposed Person (PEP) and adverse-media watchlists, as part of anti-money-laundering due diligence.
Where it fits in onboarding
It typically runs alongside identity verification, not instead of it — confirming who a customer is (PAN, Aadhaar, business registration) and separately checking whether that identified person or entity appears on a restricted list are two different controls, both required for full KYC/AML coverage.
Official source
The United Nations Security Council publishes a consolidated list of individuals and entities subject to its sanctions, which is one of the lists sanctions screening checks against. Indian regulators also issue their own orders and lists, so confirm which lists apply to your business before you configure screening.
Making screening workable
Name matching is where sanctions screening succeeds or fails. Names are spelled differently across documents and languages, so exact matching misses real hits while loose matching floods reviewers with false alarms. Use a tolerant match, then confirm likely hits with other details such as date of birth or nationality before deciding.
Screen at onboarding and again when the lists change, because a customer who was clear yesterday may appear on a list today. Record what was screened, against which lists, and why each alert was closed or escalated, so the decision can be explained to an auditor later.
