How to Scrape the UK Sanctions List

Export current FCDO designations with names, aliases, regimes, measures, dates, and source context. The UK Sanctions List Scraper turns each public UK designation into a bounded Apify dataset row and preserves a direct source URL for verification.

Start with a reviewable sample

{"designationType":"Entity","queries":[],"regimes":[],"maxResults":500}

Begin with ten to one hundred records, not a full archive. Inspect identifier stability, date formats, nulls, arrays, free-text fields, and source links. Use the current UK Sanctions List rather than the retired OFSI consolidated list. Once the sample matches the intended workflow, raise the result limit deliberately and save the input as a named Apify Task.

Design the dataset around source truth

Keep UK Unique ID, OFSI group ID, UN reference, primary name, aliases, designation type, regime, measures, dates, reasons, addresses, and source URL together in the raw landing table. Do not replace missing values with zero, invent status labels, or silently collapse aliases. Use the publisher's stable identifier as the upsert key where one exists; otherwise combine the canonical source URL and observed identifier. Add a downstream collection timestamp so analysts can distinguish a revised record from a newly published record.

A useful pipeline has three layers. The raw layer stores the Actor output without lossy transformations. The review layer adds normalized dates, currencies, or matching candidates while preserving original fields. The application layer contains only decisions that have passed the organization's validation rules. This separation makes source changes auditable and prevents a convenient spreadsheet formula from becoming an undocumented business rule.

Schedule changes without creating alert noise

Run the Task on a cadence appropriate to how often UK government changes. Compare stable keys and material fields rather than array order or page position. Send alerts only for additions, removals, deadline changes, status changes, or other changes relevant to the workflow. Store the previous snapshot in a table or object store and make the diff reproducible.

For operational use, log the Actor run ID, dataset ID, input, source URL, and collection time. Use retries for transient network failures, but fail visibly when the publisher returns no records for a query that normally has coverage. Silent empty datasets are more dangerous than explicit failures because they can look like a legitimate all-clear.

Validate before acting

A name or alias match alone is never a confirmed sanctions match. Verify identifiers, regime, measures, dates, and the current official UK record; use qualified human review for every high-stakes decision. The Actor is a collection tool, not a substitute for due diligence, legal interpretation, financial analysis, or publisher methodology. Reviewers should open the source URL, confirm that the record is current, and document the evidence used for any material conclusion.

This workflow is designed for sanctions analysts, compliance teams, maritime researchers, and auditors. It is an independent integration and is not affiliated with or endorsed by UK government.

Use the current authoritative UK source

Since January 2026, the UK Sanctions List is the single authoritative source for current UK designations; the old OFSI consolidated search is historical. The Actor processes each published Designation incrementally so large official updates remain reliable.

Each designation can contain multiple structured names, non-Latin names, addresses, and measure indicators. The Actor identifies the primary name by NameType, keeps aliases separately, and preserves UK Unique ID, OFSI group ID, and UN reference where present. Phone and email fields are intentionally excluded from normalized output.

Dates are published as DD/MM/YYYY, so the dataset view labels them as text rather than pretending they are ISO timestamps. Convert them downstream with an explicit locale-aware parser and retain the original string for audit.

Why use an Apify Task

A Task makes the exact input repeatable across schedules, webhooks, the API, Make, Zapier, n8n, and MCP clients. Keep one Task per business question instead of one enormous catch-all export. Small Tasks are easier to test, cheaper to rerun, and clearer when a source field or filter changes. The Thirdwatch Actor on Apify provides JSON, CSV, Excel, RSS, and API access to the resulting dataset.