Financial sanctions suspected breach reporting form
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-17)

Financial sanctions suspected breach reporting form

Before you start

This form should be used to report suspected breaches of financial sanctions to HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

Before completing this form you should consult OFSI’s general guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-general-guidance/uk-financial-sanctions-general-guidance#reporting-to-ofsi) for information on your financial sanctions reporting and compliance obligations.

You should note that for some businesses there is a legal obligation to report, and that not doing so is a criminal offence. If you are unsure of your compliance or reporting obligations under financial sanctions, you should seek independent legal advice.

Please ensure that when completing this form, the facts and information provided are accurate and true to the best of your knowledge. You should have completed a narrative report of the circumstances of the breach ready to upload before you commence this form (see further below for guidance), unless this is a pre-notification and you intend to later make a fuller report within a specified timeframe.

You cannot save your progress. Make sure you have the following information before you start:

Contact details of the person making the report

Details of the suspected breacher and any involved designated person(s) (DP), including their group ID if they are a DP

Details of any persons connected with Russia or trust services, if involved

The sanctions regime under which the suspected breach has occurred and details of any relevant licence numbers that may apply or are suspected to have been breached

Details of the suspected breach including value, currency, date, details of remitter, intermediary and ultimate beneficiary

Documentation detailing the events or series of actions that led to the suspected breach taking place (further guidance below)

Details of when and how the suspected breach was discovered, and any other authority the matter has also been or will be reported to

The types of funds, economic resources or financial services involved

Any other supporting material

Information provided could be used by OFSI in enforcement proceedings if it is considered that a breach of relevant sanctions legislation has occurred. Please also note that information received by OFSI may be disclosed to third parties in accordance with provisions set out in the Information and Records part of the regulations and in compliance with applicable data protection laws. OFSI may refer cases to the appropriate regulators and enforcement agencies who may themselves decide whether to pursue a prosecution or other regulatory action.

Completing the narrative report

Your report should include all known details in relation to the suspected breach activity. You should carefully review OFSI’s financial sanctions enforcement and monetary penalties guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-enforcement-and-monetary-penalties-guidance/financial-sanctions-enforcement-and-monetary-penalties-guidance) prior to writing your report. Chapter 3, Case assessment, gives details of how OFSI will assess a case and the factors we will take into account. OFSI encourages all reporters to include as much detail as possible in this report to assist OFSI’s understanding of the case and circumstances. If making a self-report, you should ensure that this report is accurate and materially complete in order for this to be considered a mitigating factor in any subsequent enforcement case, or to qualify for a discount for voluntary self-disclosure, should a penalty be imposed.

OFSI takes very seriously any evidence that a person deliberately made a disclosure which did not include relevant information, unless this was a mistake or new facts emerge. Where information is not known or not applicable, reporters should make that clear at the outset.

The following are examples of important details which should be included in a report:

The date and value of the suspected breach, including a full timeline of events from the root cause of the breach to the time of reporting the breach to OFSI;

If there has been a significant passage of time between the breach occurring, it being identified and then subsequently reported to OFSI, an explanation for this passage of time;

The key parties involved in the suspected breach, and their roles in any given transaction or financial arrangement. Provide clear descriptions of the roles and responsibilities of the different actors and key identifiers, including but not limited to company registration numbers and job titles;

The designated person, or entity they own or control. If making a report which relates to an entity you deem may be owned or controlled by a DP, provide as much detail as to why you consider the ownership or control test is met, with reference to specific factors (such as share ownership) and refer to Case Factor F in OFSI’s enforcement and monetary penalty guidance when doing so. State your level of confidence in the ownership and control assessment, and how that assessment was made;

If a transaction is complicated, consider providing diagrams or charts which explain the commercial relationships between parties, especially if the transaction or activity spans multiple countries;

Try to avoid using acronyms or industry jargon, or if you use such terminology clearly explain it and consider providing a glossary of terms;

The sanctions regime and regulation(s) suspected to have been breached;

Any sanctions policies or procedures in place in your organisation, and any other information relevant to your sanctions knowledge and compliance systems. If policies and procedures were not followed in relation to the breach, explain why;

If self-reporting, an explanation of the reporter’s assessment as to the root causes of the breach and any shortcomings in sanctions systems and controls or the implementation of these systems and controls;

Details of communication between any third parties/others involved in relation to verifying the transaction in question;

Whether you are aware of any future payments or activity related to the potential breach you are reporting. If so, explain whether you have applied or intend to apply for a licence for this future activity, and provide the licence reference number. Please note that you cannot apply for a licence for something which has already occurred in the past; and

Any steps taken since the occurrence or identification of the suspected breach, including any remedial action planned or undertaken or any wider investigation into other breaches.

Tips

The form cannot be saved, and times out after 20 hours of inactivity. You can prepare answers in a Word (or other) document, save them, then paste the information onto the form

A maximum of 4 files can be uploaded to the form, each with a maximum file size of 7MB. This can consist of 1 report detailing the circumstances of the breach and up to 3 files providing supporting evidence

Read through all your information to check it includes everything required by OFSI, and it all makes sense

Ensure any figures add up correctly and where applicable, currencies are clearly stated

Carefully consider whether you need to submit more than 4 files and/or if any will exceed the size limit. If you deem this essential, please email these to xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) quoting the reference number provided upon submission.

Complete the reporting form

Report now (https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/6158/financial-sanctions-suspected-breach-reporting-form)

Downloadable Forms – Preview of Online Form Questions (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6878d18d760bf6cedaf5bdec/FS_Suspected_breach_form.docx)