Lists by regime
The UK Sanctions List explained
Short answer
- Keeper
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 1
- Law
- Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 5
- OFSI list closed
- 28 January 2026, kept for reference only 1
- Formats
- ODT, ODS, XML, HTML, text, CSV and PDF 1
- Designated persons, end of financial year 2024 to 2025
- 4,733 (3,750 individuals, 968 entities, 15 ships) 6
- Frozen assets reported
- £37,079,363,495.69 in the Annual Frozen Asset Review 2024 6
One list since January 2026
The UK Sanctions List covers regimes including Russia, ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida, Iran and Global Human Rights 1. The OFSI Consolidated List of Asset Freeze Targets was announced for closure on 13 October 2025 and closed on 28 January 2026 1. The FCDO says the UK Sanctions List is now the only source for all UK sanctions designations 1. CSV and text files were added on 3 December 2025 and a PDF on 16 December 2025. A search service is at search-uk-sanctions-list.service.gov.uk 1.
Who does what
| Body | Role as stated by the UK government |
|---|---|
| FCDO 7 | High-level policy and decisions on designations and ship specifications 7 |
| OFSI, HM Treasury 7 | Civil enforcement of financial sanctions and licences 7 |
| OTSI 7 | Licences for sanctioned standalone services and civil enforcement of some trade sanctions 7 |
| HMRC 7 | Criminal enforcement of trade sanctions and enforcement at the border 7 |
| National Crime Agency 7 | Investigation of criminal breaches of financial and transport sanctions 7 |
| Home Office 7 | Immigration sanctions, known as travel bans 7 |
The legal test for designation
The Act sets out the powers to make sanctions regulations, the meaning of designated persons and the powers to designate by name or by description 5. Under section 11, a minister may designate a person by name under the standard procedure only where the minister has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is an involved person 2. An involved person includes someone who is or has been involved in an activity specified in the regulations, or who is owned or controlled by, acts for, or is associated with such a person 2.
Asset freezes reach beyond the named list. OFSI says the freeze covers designated persons and the entities they own or control, directly or indirectly, and there is no list of those entities 8. OFSI does not add together separate minority stakes of different designated persons, except where they act under a joint arrangement or one controls the other's rights 8.
OFSI figures for financial year 2024 to 2025
The OFSI Annual Review 2024-25, published in October 2025, covers the financial year 2024 to 2025 6. It reported 4,733 designations on the list at the end of the year. Russia accounted for 2,113 designations as of 5 April 2025 6. In the year, 191 Russia designations were added and 9 Russia designations were removed 6. OFSI recorded 394 suspected breach reports and made 904 specific licensing decisions 6. The text names 2 monetary penalties, of £15,000 and £465,000, and the foreword says enforcement actions totalled approximately £500,000 of penalties 6. A table titled Ratio of self-reported vs not self-reported shows 214 self-reported and 180 not self-reported cases. The text says 151 cases came from non-self-reported sources in 2024-25, up from 108 the year before. The review does not reconcile the 180 and 151 figures 6.
Review and removal
A designated person may at any time ask the minister to vary or revoke a designation. The minister must decide whether to vary, revoke or take no action 3. A further request on the same designation is allowed only if it raises a significant matter the minister has not considered before 3. After a ministerial decision, the person named may apply to the High Court, or in Scotland the Court of Session, to set it aside. The court applies the principles used in judicial review 4.
Common questions
Is the OFSI Consolidated List still in use?
No. It closed on 28 January 2026. The FCDO says the UK Sanctions List is now the only source for all UK designations 1.
What test does the UK use to designate someone?
A minister must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is an involved person as defined in the regulations 2.
How many people and entities are under UK financial sanctions?
OFSI reported 4,733 at the end of financial year 2024 to 2025, made up of 3,750 individuals, 968 entities and 15 ships 6.
Can a UK designation be challenged in court?
Yes. After a ministerial decision the person named may apply to the High Court or Court of Session to have it set aside 4.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@sanctionslistsexplained.com.
Sources
- Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: The UK Sanctions List (last updated 16 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, section 11, Designation of a person by name under a designation power
- legislation.gov.uk: Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, section 23, Right to request variation or revocation of designation
- legislation.gov.uk: Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, section 38, Court review of decisions
- legislation.gov.uk: Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018
- HM Treasury, Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation: OFSI Annual Review 2024-25: Effective Sanctions (October 2025)
- GOV.UK: UK sanctions (last updated 30 March 2026)
- Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation: UK Financial Sanctions FAQs (last updated 9 October 2026)
Related
- Challenging EU and UK sanctions designations
How EU and UK sanctions listings are reviewed and challenged: Council observations, the General Court, UK requests under SAMLA section 23 and court review.
- Sanctions lists compared across regimes
Who keeps each major sanctions list, the legal basis, where to search it and what the official pages say about its legal status.
- How to check sanctions status on official tools
The official search tools and files for the UN, US, EU, UK, Canadian and Australian sanctions lists, and how OFAC says to judge a possible match.
- The EU consolidated sanctions list
How EU sanctions listings are adopted, published, reviewed and challenged, who keeps the EU financial sanctions list and who enforces it.
- How delisting from a sanctions list works
How names come off US, UN, EU, UK and Canadian sanctions lists: who decides, the grounds each regime accepts, published timelines and UN case figures.