Sanctions Screening Investigator

The investigator navigates complex unilateral and multilateral sanctions frameworks, including United Nations Security Council resolutions, the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC designations, European Union restrictive measures, and national security sanctions lists. They evaluate real time algorithmic screening alerts generated across payment wire messages, ocean shipping manifests, and sales contracts. The investigator investigates high risk alerts, resolving false positives caused by common names or phonetic similarities while isolating true positive matches.

Modern illicit finance and sanctions evasion rely on sophisticated deceptive practices, including the use of multi tiered offshore corporate holding structures, front companies, and fraudulent ship to ship oil transfers with disabled Automatic Identification System AIS transponders. While screening software flags exact keyword matches, the investigator applies complex legal standards like the OFAC Fifty Percent Rule, tracking whether multiple sanctioned individuals collectively own a controlling stake in an unlisted commercial entity. They conduct deep source open source intelligence OSINT investigations, trace ultimate beneficial ownership UBO, and author formal voluntary disclosures to regulatory enforcement agencies.

The morning begins in the global financial crime compliance center reviewing an automated high risk sanctions alert that blocked a ten million shilling SWIFT wire transfer destined for a maritime shipping agency. The screening engine flagged the beneficiary name due to a partial match with a sanctioned foreign oligarch. The investigator examines commercial registries in Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, unraveling a three tier corporate holding structure to determine whether the sanctioned individual owns fifty percent or more of the company under OFAC rules. The investigation reveals that the oligarch sold their stake six months prior, but the current nominal owner is a documented family member acting as a front. The investigator confirms the true positive match, freezes the funds in a blocked interest bearing account, drafts an emergency regulatory report to the national financial intelligence unit, and updates the internal compliance watchlist to prevent future evasion attempts.

In the afternoon, you execute core deliverables, consult with cross functional colleagues, document operational outcomes, and ensure that all equipment and handover notes are fully updated before completing the shift.

A Sanctions Screening and Denied Party List Export Control Investigator investigates, audits, adjudicates, and mitigates legal risks associated with international commercial transactions involving sanctioned individuals, designated terrorist organizations, restricted corporate entities, and embargoed foreign jurisdictions. Operating within financial crime compliance divisions of international banks, multinational corporate legal departments, and government sanctions enforcement agencies, the investigator ensures that commercial transactions comply with global sanctions regimes.

Core responsibilities include investigate and adjudicate automated sanctions screening alerts across international customer databases and payment messages., operational coordination, and ensuring strict adherence to Kenyan statutory frameworks and quality standards.

Key organizations hiring for this role include Kenya Revenue Authority KRA Customs and Border Control, East African Community EAC Directorate of Customs, Kenya Association of Manufacturers KAM, Bollore Transport and Logistics Kenya, alongside expanding opportunities in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and regional infrastructure projects.

Sanctions Screening Investigator Specialist, Senior Sanctions Screening Investigator, Sanctions Screening Investigator Lead, Sanctions Screening Investigator Consultant

Modern illicit finance and sanctions evasion rely on sophisticated deceptive practices, including the use of multi tiered offshore corporate holding structures, front companies, and fraudulent ship to ship oil transfers with disabled Automatic Identification System AIS transponders. While screening software flags exact keyword matches, the investigator applies complex legal standards like the OFAC Fifty Percent Rule, tracking whether multiple sanctioned individuals collectively own a controlling stake in an unlisted commercial entity. They conduct deep source open source intelligence OSINT investigations, trace ultimate beneficial ownership UBO, and author formal voluntary disclosures to regulatory enforcement agencies. Employment opportunities concentrate across major industrial, commercial, and financial hubs including Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Eldoret, alongside specialized regional project sites.