Which countries should I block? - Sanctions list countries

When you register a Blockpass service, you can configure geoblocking on your service. This means you can restrict certain countries which are considered high risk based on AML or terrorist financing or for other reasons. Users who are residents of such restricted countries will not be able to submit a profile to your service.

Blockpass cannot advise which country you should exclude from your service. Therefore, please discuss with your lawyer which countries you should exclude. Deciding which countries to exclude might be dependent on where you are located (incorporated), where you are offering your services and whether you are regulated or not.

Note: the countries below only pertain to sanctions restrictions. Your lawyer should be able to advise whether other countries should be excluded due to other regulatory requirements for example if crypto is considered a security or crypto is not permitted in that jurisdiction. 

EU sanctions list:

Reference: https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main

EU sanctions lists are diplomatic decisions taken by European Union countries, entities or individuals. These sanctions are safety measures aimed at protecting the interests of national security, peace and international law. It includes the following countries:

OFAC (US) sanctions list 

Reference: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/sanctions-programs-and-country-information

OFAC manages economic and commercial sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives and implements the necessary procedures. It also takes measures against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other threats to the U.S.'s national security, foreign policy, or economy. It includes the following countries:

UK sanctions list:

Reference: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-sanctions-regime-specific-consolidated-lists-and-releases

UK sanctions list lists entities and individuals subjected to certain financial restrictions as part of the United Kingdom's government's domestic counter-terrorism regime policy. Also, it includes individuals prohibited by the European Union and the United Nations:

UN sanctions list 

Reference:

https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/peace-rights-and-security/un-sanctions/

https://www.mas.gov.sg/regulation/anti-money-laundering/targeted-financial-sanctions/lists-of-designated-individuals-and-entities

UN sanctions lists are diplomatic decisions enforced by the United Nations member states against states, entities, or individuals. These sanctions are measures of safety to preserve national safety interests, peace, and international law. it includes: 

FATF Grey List and Blacklist

• FATF Grey List

Reference: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/increased-monitoring-june-2022.html

For all countries identified as grey list, the FATF calls on all members and urges all jurisdictions to apply Enhanced Due Diligence, and in the most serious cases, countries are called upon to apply counter-measures to protect the international financial system from the ongoing money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing (ML/TF/PF) risks emanating from the country. It includes the following countries:

Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Senegal, Uganda, United Arab Emirates do not appear on any sanctions lists but only the FATF Grey list, so Blockpass recommends applying Enhanced Due Diligence measures on them.

• FATF Blacklist

Reference: http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/high-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/documents/call-for-action-february-2020.html

The FATF Blacklist includes the following countries: