Overview#
The Gatekeepers is a practical course on navigating global sanctions designed for compliance professionals in dynamic markets. It takes participants from the foundational purpose of sanctions compliance — protecting the institution’s lifeline to the global economy — through to the daily practice of screening, investigation, escalation, and documentation.
The course reframes the compliance function not as a cost centre or a box-ticking exercise, but as a guardian role: protecting the correspondent banking relationships and international market access that enable entire economies to function. Participants are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and professional pride to perform this role effectively.
Estimated completion time: 60–75 minutes
Who This Course Is For#
This course is designed for compliance professionals in dynamic and emerging markets, with particular relevance for:
- Sanctions screening analysts and compliance officers at banks and financial institutions
- Trade finance compliance professionals responsible for reviewing documentary evidence
- Staff new to sanctions compliance who need a structured, practical foundation
- Professionals who screen transactions and manage alert queues in their daily work
- Anyone seeking to understand the global sanctions landscape from the perspective of a growth market institution
No prior knowledge of sanctions compliance is required. The course builds systematically from first principles.
What You’ll Learn#
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand correspondent banking and explain the risk of de-risking to colleagues and stakeholders
- Recognise the compliance function as a value protector rather than a cost centre
- Identify the key sanctions regimes — UN, OFAC, EU, UK — and understand how each one affects daily operations
- Understand US extraterritoriality and why OFAC rules can reach transactions conducted entirely outside the United States
- Differentiate between list-based, sectoral, and comprehensive sanctions
- Apply the 50% Rule to identify companies that are sanctioned by extension through their ownership structure
- Explain how screening tools work, including the use of fuzzy logic
- Triage a large alert queue efficiently, separating obvious false positives from alerts requiring investigation
- Conduct a disambiguation investigation using available data points and free public tools
- Identify trade and payment red flags, including dual-use goods and unusual shipping routes
- Escalate potential true matches correctly using the proper escalation pathway
- Document investigation findings to a professional standard that will withstand regulatory scrutiny
- Understand the difference between blocking and rejecting a transaction, and when each applies
- Build the habits and relationships needed for a long-term career in compliance
Course Modules#
Our Purpose
Why your job is more important than you think. Understand correspondent banking as the lifeline and de-risking as the primary threat compliance prevents.
The Rules of the Road
A simple map to a complex world — the key sanctions regimes (UN, OFAC, EU, UK), US extraterritoriality, and the 50% Rule explained.
The First Checkpoint
How screening systems work, how to manage a daily alert queue, and the triage mindset that separates clear false positives from alerts requiring investigation.
The Analyst's Craft
Your life as a sanctions detective — the science of disambiguation, the free investigation toolkit, and how to read trade finance red flags.
The Decision Point
Escalation, reporting, and action — the structured escalation pathway, professional documentation, and the difference between blocking and rejecting a transaction.
Building Your Future
A career in compliance — how to stay current, partner with the business, and navigate the career path from analyst to compliance leader.
Final Assessment
A comprehensive 30-question assessment covering all six modules. 80% pass mark required for your Certificate of Completion.