{"id":6883,"date":"2026-04-17T15:19:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/6883\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:19:06","slug":"uks-ofsi-embeds-artificial-intelligence-as-security-risks-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/6883\/","title":{"rendered":"UK\u2019s OFSI \u2018embeds\u2019 artificial intelligence as security risks grow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Moscow: Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago presented OFSI with its biggest challenge to date I Credit: Van Mailian (Pexels)<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has said it is \u2018working to embed\u2019 artificial intelligence (AI) tools as it strives to \u2018ensure UK financial sanctions remain effective, resilient and impactful.\u2019<\/p>\n

OFSI was set up a decade ago and is operating in an environment that has \u2018changed markedly\u2019, it acknowledges in its newly published \u2018Strategy 2026-2029\u2019<\/a>. Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago presented OFSI with its biggest challenge to date: implementing the largest ever sanctions regime in the UK.<\/p>\n

The office, which is part of HM Treasury, notes in the strategy \u2013 published this week (15 April) \u2013 that sanctions are being used to tackle an \u2018ever-wider range of threats and challenges across foreign policy and national security.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018As OFSI enters its second decade, this strategy sets out an ambitious plan for the next three years to ensure UK financial sanctions remain effective, resilient and impactful,\u2019 writes economic secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby in the document\u2019s foreword.<\/p>\n

The strategy \u2018aims to make expectations clearer, to ensure OFSI provides faster and more predictable support, to ensure OFSI is equipped to take decisive action where harm occurs, and to embed long-term improvements across the system,\u2019 Rigby states. \u2018It also highlights planned investment in modern, digital and data driven tools, including AI, to target the highest risk activity and reduce frictions for legitimate businesses.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Tech \u2018central to OFSI\u2019s approach\u2019<\/p>\n

Asset freezes are the most common form of financial sanctions, prohibiting the use of funds or economic resources owned, held, or controlled by designated individuals or entities.<\/p>\n

\u2018Technology is transforming the threat of circumvention but also giving us new capabilities for intelligence and enforcement,\u2019 the first chapter of the 19-page strategy points out. \u2018Technology is central to OFSI\u2019s approach and we have been working to embed AI\u2011enabled workflows across enforcement, licensing and intelligence functions.\u2019<\/p>\n

The effectiveness of\u00a0UK, as well as European Union (EU), US and other countries and jurisdictions\u2019 sanctions on Russia is inevitably a contentious topic, with evidence of both significant financial impact and ongoing challenges with evasion.<\/p>\n

The government estimated last year (June 2025) that UK, EU and US\u00a0sanctions have denied Russia access to at least $450 billion<\/a>\u00a0since February 2022. In October, OFSI said that, as of May 2025,\u00a0\u00a328.7 billion of assets linked to Russia had been frozen in the UK since 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018UK financial sanctions have played a critical role in constraining Russia\u2019s war\u2011fighting capability by targeting the Russian government\u2019s key revenue streams, disrupting circumvention routes, and supporting wider counter\u2011economic\u2011crime objectives,\u2019 OFSI states in the strategy document.<\/p>\n

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Crypto\u2019s \u2018rapid evolution\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The landscape which OFSI operates in will continue to evolve at pace over the next three years,\u2019 the second chapter of the two-chapter document notes, going on to mention cryptocurrencies\u2019 rise to prominence among relevant trends. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018New technologies will reshape sanctions evasion while the rapid evolution of crypto assets and a more fragmented financial services industry will present new challenges to compliance systems,\u2019 the chapter continues. \u2018Our work needs to be driven by a sophisticated understanding of the sanctions threat picture and its risks to the financial system, aiming to promote effective, efficient sanctions implementation across the private sector \u2013 maximising intended impact while minimising unintended consequences and unnecessary regulatory burden.\u2019<\/p>\n

It presents what is described as a \u2018single organising framework\u2019 containing four elements: \u2018Promote\u2019, \u2018Enable\u2019, \u2018Respond\u2019 and \u2018Change\u2019. \u00a0<\/p>\n

On \u2018Promote\u2019 (\u2018shaping expectations and setting the standard\u2019), OFSI strives to work with other regulators and enforcement bodies to be as \u2018consistent and joined-up as possible to reduce friction for compliant firms\u2019; and, through these collaborations, the office is \u2018building a picture of circumvention activity and taking steps to detect and disrupt it.\u2019<\/p>\n

On \u2018Enable\u2019 (enabling sanctions-compliant behaviour that is \u2018fast, predictable and scalable\u2019), OFSI aims for \u2018modern, digital-by-default engagement including social media, online services, reporting and forms\u2019; and \u2018using data and data sharing to improve our services.\u2019<\/p>\n

Mention is made of \u2018AI-enabled workflows\u2019 in both this section and the \u2018Change\u2019 (\u2018embedding lasting behaviour change across the whole financial sanctions\u2019 system and all actors within it\u2019) section. The Engage section describes \u2018AI-enabled workflows to enhance our services, anticipate risk and stay ahead of evolving evasion methods\u2019; the Change section describes \u2018AI-enabled workflows to enhance our services and make the most of data OFSI holds and collects.\u2019<\/p>\n

RELATED ARTICLE UK government flows sanctions data into AI-powered fraud-detection tool<\/a> \u2013 a news story (15 March 2024) on UK and US sanctions data being added to an AI-powered fraud-detection tool (the \u2018Single Network Analytics Platform\u2019 \u2013 SNAP) being used by UK authorities to root out criminals<\/p>\n

Ownership and control test: consultation<\/p>\n

A couple of months ago OFSI launched a call for evidence seeking industry\u2019s views on how UK financial sanctions regulations on ownership and control are applied in practice<\/a>, including how firms implement the regulations and where they face challenges.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018The ownership and control test is designed to stop sanctioned individuals and entities from sidestepping UK sanctions by hiding behind complex company structures,\u00a0trusts\u00a0or proxies,\u2019 OFSI, which is overseen by director Giles Thomson, explained in a blogpost<\/a> (16 February). \u2018However, industry representatives report to OFSI that assessing the ability of a designated person\u00a0to control an entity \u2013 even if they are not actively doing so \u2013 can be difficult in practice and may create additional costs and legal risk.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018This\u00a0information [call for evidence] will help us understand whether the current approach is as clear,\u00a0effective\u00a0and proportionate as it should be, so that sanctions remain\u00a0tough on those they target while being workable for legitimate businesses,\u2019 it added. The call for evidence closes on 20 April.<\/p>\n

The EU has itself imposed\u00a0what it describes as \u2018massive and unprecedented\u2019 sanctions against Russia since 2022. These measures come on top of the sanctions already imposed on the country since 2014. The 27-member bloc has also adopted sanctions against Belarus, Iran and North Korea \u2018in response to their support for Russia\u2019.<\/p>\n

The 27-member bloc has, in total, applied\u00a019 packages\u00a0of sanctions against Russia<\/a> over the past four years, with the most recent announced in October 2025. This included sanctions against an additional 69 individuals, including crypto providers; a ban on transactions with an additional five Russian banks and other banks from third countries; and a ban on engagement by EU operators with Russia\u2019s national payment card system (Mir) and faster payments system (SBP).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moscow: Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago presented OFSI with its biggest challenge to date…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6884,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,6290,6291,3277,203,6292,6293,369,6294,6295,6296,6297,6298,6299,4451,6300,6301,6302,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-6883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-asset-freezes","11":"tag-belarus","12":"tag-cryptocurrency","13":"tag-data","14":"tag-giles-thomson","15":"tag-hm-treasury","16":"tag-iran","17":"tag-lucy-rigby","18":"tag-mir","19":"tag-north-korea","20":"tag-office-of-financial-sanctions-implementation","21":"tag-ofsi","22":"tag-resilience","23":"tag-russia","24":"tag-sanctions","25":"tag-sanctions-evasion","26":"tag-sbp","27":"tag-ukraine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}