Dealing with SDN hits on background checks

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I am in HR and we recently had a candidate’s name flag up on a sanctions list check. The person claims it is just a “false positive” because they have a common name. We really want to hire them, but the legal department is terrified of OFAC fines. How do we verify if this is actually the same person? Are there professional services that can help us clear a name so we can proceed with the hire without risk?

[Md Ghazi Altamash]

You have to be extremely careful here. Hiring someone who is actually on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list can lead to massive fines for the company. However, false positives are very common. I would recommend visiting https://ofacblockedfundslawyers.com/ to see how they handle these verification issues. They can help you perform a “due diligence” check to confirm the person’s identity and ensure you aren’t violating any laws. We had a similar case where the candidate had the same name as a minor official from a sanctioned country. It took some time to clear, but having a professional legal opinion made the board feel much safer about the hire. My advice is to never ignore a hit on a sanctions check – always get it professionally verified before you sign any contracts.

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