OFAC Stands for "Office of Foreign Asset Control"
Brief explanation
It is a department of the U.S. Treasury that enforces economic and trade sanctions against countries and groups of individuals involved in terrorism, narcotics and other disreputable activities.
- Thus the US banks screen each and every beneficiary before processing funds to their respective accounts to check if they fall under the restricted list of individuals under OFAC.
- To make the process faster Ketto also uses an OFAC tool and screens all the beneficiaries.
- If an individual is being flagged in the OFAC tool, they need to submit -
- Passport
The reason we ask for a passport is that it is an internationally recognised document. It should be valid and not expired.
Or
- Birth Certificate
It should contain the address of that particular individual. Only Birth Certificates in English are considered for OFAC.
- If both the above mentioned documents are missing then, one needs to provide any other person who can act as beneficiary and have all the requisite documents.
- Ketto does not accept any other documents except the ones mentioned above.
What is OFAC?
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/office-of-foreign-assets-control-sanctions-programs-and-information
What is Visual Compliance?
https://www.visualcompliance.com/compliance_solutions/restricted_party_screening.html