Do I need an API key?

No! OpenSanctions is completely free for non-commercial use. No authentication required.

What sanctions lists are included?

OpenSanctions aggregates data from OFAC (US), EU Consolidated List, UN Security Council, UK HMT, and many other global sanctions regimes.

How accurate is the name matching?

The API uses fuzzy matching with configurable thresholds (0.0-1.0). Default threshold of 0.85 balances accuracy and recall for most use cases.

Can I screen companies, not just individuals?

Yes! Use search_company to find sanctioned companies, or use the general search with schema='Company' filter.

OpenSanctions MCP Server for Claude Desktop 8 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: OpenSanctions
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 8 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

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Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

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Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install OpenSanctions and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opensanctions": {
      // Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About OpenSanctions MCP Server

Connect to OpenSanctions and access the world's largest open sanctions and PEP screening database through natural conversation — no API key needed for non-commercial use.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect OpenSanctions to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 8 tools in the chat interface. ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Entity Search — Search for sanctioned persons, companies and vessels by name
Sanctions Screening — Screen names against global sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UN, UK HMT)
PEP Screening — Screen persons against Politically Exposed Persons databases
Entity Details — Get full entity info including aliases, dates of birth, nationalities and addresses
Vessel Search — Search sanctioned vessels by name or IMO number
Dataset Browser — Browse all available sanctions datasets worldwide

The OpenSanctions MCP Server exposes 8 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect OpenSanctions to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the OpenSanctions MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using OpenSanctions

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 8 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the OpenSanctions MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with OpenSanctions through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client. it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage. your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to Vinkius Edge network

OpenSanctions + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the OpenSanctions MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies. all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

OpenSanctions MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (8)

These 8 tools become available when you connect OpenSanctions to Claude Desktop via MCP:

get_datasets

Returns dataset names, descriptions, publisher info and entity counts. Get list of all sanctions datasets available

get_entity

Returns full entity details including names, aliases, dates of birth, nationalities, addresses, sanctions details, related entities and source datasets. Get detailed info for a specific entity by ID

match_pep

Returns match scores, matched entities, political positions and source datasets. Useful for KYC/AML compliance checks. Screen a name against Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) lists

match_sanctions

Uses fuzzy matching to find potential matches. Returns match scores, matched entities and sanction details. Use threshold parameter (0.0-1.0) to adjust sensitivity. Default 0.85. Screen a name against global sanctions lists

search_company

Returns company names, registration numbers, jurisdictions, addresses and sanctions status. Search for companies in the sanctions database

search_entities

Supports free-text search with fuzzy matching. Returns entity names, types (Person, Company, Vessel), countries and dataset sources. Use schema parameter to filter by entity type (Person, Company, Vessel, etc.). Search sanctions and PEP entities by name

search_person

Returns person names, aliases, dates of birth, nationalities, countries and sanctions status. Search for persons in the sanctions database

search_vessel

Returns vessel names, IMO numbers, flags, owners and sanctions status. Search for vessels (ships) in the sanctions database

Example Prompts for OpenSanctions in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with OpenSanctions immediately.

"Screen 'Vladimir Putin' against sanctions lists."

"Search for companies sanctioned in Russia."

"What sanctions datasets are available?"

Troubleshooting OpenSanctions MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting OpenSanctions to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting. wait a few seconds.

OpenSanctions + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating OpenSanctions MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully. if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL. Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.