// Free tool · v0.1 · No account · Browser-only
OFAC 50-Percent Rule Calculator
Paste a multi-tier corporate ownership chain. The tool computes aggregate ownership held by sanctioned persons for every non-SDN entity and flags any whose share held (directly or indirectly) by SDN persons is 50% or more — the threshold at which an entity is itself blocked under OFAC FAQ 401. All computation runs in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, nothing is stored.
// Scope & limits
This calculator implements the OFAC 50-Percent Rule mechanically. It does not handle control-based blocking (post-GVA Capital 2025 expansion of the test beyond pure ownership), trust structures, beneficial-ownership constructive holdings via nominees, or EU-equivalent ownership-or-control test variations under EU Council Regulation 269/2014. Output is a starting point for compliance review, not a legal determination. See our OFAC 50-Percent Rule methodology explainer for full nuance and the case-law that has moved the test.
OFAC source guidance
- FAQ 398 — What does “owned” mean for purposes of the 50-Percent Rule?
- FAQ 399 — Aggregation across multiple SDN owners.
- FAQ 400 — Indirect ownership through intermediate entities.
- FAQ 401 — The 50-percent threshold and automatic blocked-property status.
- FAQ 402 — Control vs. ownership; separate analysis for control-based blocking.
How the aggregate ownership algorithm works
- Parse the input into directed ownership edges (owner → target, percent, owner_is_sdn).
- Cycle check. Build the ownership graph and run a depth-first traversal. If any cycle is detected (e.g. A owns B owns C owns A), refuse to compute and report the cycle — the recursion is mathematically undefined and the chain likely contains a data error.
- Recursive aggregation. For each non-SDN entity, sum the share held by SDNs:
- Direct SDN owner contributes its full percent.
- For each non-SDN intermediate owner, first compute its own sanctioned aggregate. If that aggregate is ≥ 50%, the intermediate is itself blocked — its FULL percent passes through to the downstream entity. If < 50%, only a fractional share passes through (intermediate’s aggregate × its percent ÷ 100).
- Flag any entity whose total sanctioned aggregate is ≥ 50% as BLOCKED.
- Trace. For each entity, the “Why” expander reconstructs the contributing owners, the propagation type (direct SDN / fully-blocked intermediate / partial pass-through), and the resulting per-edge contribution.
Related
- OFAC 50-Percent Rule — full methodology
- 50-Percent Rule loopholes in Russia sanctions: the case-law
- Sanctions Compliance Service — commission a full chain reconstruction with primary sources
- Sanctions Check tool — screen a single entity name against consolidated lists