Sanctions screening for UK property lenders: a practical guide

What is sanctions screening?

Sanctions screening means checking the names of the people and companies involved in a deal against official lists of sanctioned persons. Dealing with the funds or economic resources of a designated person can be a criminal offence in the UK, so lenders screen before they lend and keep a record that they did.

Which list to check

The UK Sanctions List, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), is now the single official source of UK designations. The OFSI Consolidated List closed on 28 January 2026, so procedures that still refer to it should be updated.

Who to screen on a property loan

• The borrower company, including any LTD or SPV.
• Its directors and people with significant control, taken from Companies House.
• Personal guarantors.
• The introducing broker firm and, where relevant, the solicitor firm.

Handling a possible match

Most hits are name matches, not confirmed identities. Compare date of birth, nationality, address and other identifiers on the listing against what you hold. Never clear a lookalike name without that comparison, and never proceed while a match is unresolved.

If you believe you have a true match, stop the transaction and follow your firm's reporting procedure.

Example

A borrower SPV has two directors. One director's first name and surname match a listed individual. The dates of birth differ by 20 years and the nationality is different, so the reviewer records why it is not the same person, keeps the screenshot and moves on.

How Vettsafe helps

Vettsafe screens the firm, the named person and up to 20 company officers against a daily-updated copy of the UK Sanctions List. Any name match is flagged for identity checks rather than cleared automatically, and the result is saved in the PDF report.