OpenFX maintains a list of prohibited jurisdictions where payments cannot be originated
or delivered. These restrictions are enforced at multiple levels: entity creation,
counterparty creation, and payment submission.
Payments involving prohibited jurisdictions are rejected at creation time. The API
returns a 422 error with a business_rule_error indicating the jurisdiction
restriction. There is no override mechanism — these restrictions are non-bypassable.
Sanctions programs
OpenFX screens against the following sanctions programs and restricted-party lists:
| Source | Program | Scope |
|---|
| OFAC | SDN List, Sectoral Sanctions | US — all transactions |
| OFAC | Consolidated Sanctions List | US — all transactions |
| HM Treasury | UK Financial Sanctions | UK — GBP and UK-related transactions |
| EU | Consolidated Sanctions List | EU — EUR and EU-related transactions |
| UN | Security Council Consolidated List | Global baseline |
| MAS | Sanctions and AML/CFT Notices | Singapore — SGD and SG-related |
Comprehensively sanctioned countries
The following countries and territories are subject to comprehensive US, UK, and/or EU
sanctions. OpenFX cannot process any transactions — inbound or outbound — involving
these jurisdictions.
| Country/Territory | ISO Code | Primary sanctions program |
|---|
| Cuba | CU | US (OFAC) |
| Iran | IR | US (OFAC), EU, UK |
| North Korea (DPRK) | KP | US (OFAC), EU, UK, UN |
| Syria | SY | US (OFAC), EU, UK |
| Crimea region (Ukraine) | UA-43 | US (OFAC), EU |
| Donetsk region (Ukraine) | UA-14 | US (OFAC) |
| Luhansk region (Ukraine) | UA-09 | US (OFAC) |
| Russia | RU | Sectoral (OFAC), EU, UK |
| Belarus | BY | Sectoral (OFAC), EU, UK |
| Myanmar (Burma) | MM | US (OFAC), EU |
| South Sudan | SS | US (OFAC) |
| Somalia | SO | Partial (OFAC, UN) |
| Yemen | YE | Partial (OFAC) |
| Venezuela | VE | Sectoral (OFAC) |
| Afghanistan | AF | Risk-based restrictions |
| Central African Republic | CF | UN sanctions |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | CD | Partial (OFAC, UN) |
| Ethiopia | ET | Risk-based restrictions |
| Iraq | IQ | Partial (OFAC) |
| Lebanon | LB | Partial (OFAC) |
| Libya | LY | Partial (OFAC, EU, UN) |
| Mali | ML | EU sanctions |
| Nicaragua | NI | Sectoral (OFAC) |
| Sudan | SD | Risk-based restrictions |
| Zimbabwe | ZW | Partial (OFAC) |
“Sectoral” means targeted sanctions against specific industries, entities, or
individuals rather than a blanket prohibition. However, OpenFX applies conservative
restrictions on all transactions involving these jurisdictions.
How restrictions are enforced
Jurisdiction restrictions are enforced at multiple points in the API:
Entity creation
When creating an entity with a country address or countryOfIncorporation in a
prohibited jurisdiction, the API rejects the request.
{
"type": "business_rule_error",
"code": "prohibited_jurisdiction",
"message": "Entities cannot be created in prohibited jurisdictions.",
"documentationUrl": "https://docs.openfx.com/guides/compliance/prohibited-jurisdictions"
}
Counterparty creation
Counterparties with addresses in prohibited jurisdictions are rejected.
Payment creation
Payments to or from prohibited jurisdictions are rejected at creation time. The source
account country and destination counterparty country are both checked.
Screening
All entities, counterparties, and payments undergo sanctions screening. The screening
status is visible on the resource:
{
"compliance": {
"screeningStatus": "clear"
}
}
| Status | Meaning |
|---|
clear | No sanctions matches found |
flagged | Potential match found — under review |
pending | Screening in progress |
not_required | Screening not applicable for this resource |
A flagged screening status places the resource in a compliance hold. The
payment will enter requires_action state with requiresActionReason: compliance_hold.
This gate cannot be bypassed — resolution requires compliance team review.
Staying current
Sanctions lists are updated frequently. OpenFX updates its screening databases
continuously and applies changes retroactively to existing resources.
- Check programmatically — the Rails Discovery API
reflects currently supported corridors. If a corridor is removed, it will no longer
appear in the rails response.
- Monitor webhook events — if a previously clear resource is flagged due to a
sanctions list update, a
payment.compliance_hold or customer.status_changed
event is emitted.
- Contact support — for questions about specific corridors or compliance status,
contact api-support@openfx.com.
API reference
