The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the U.S. Department of Commerce has taken a major step towards tightening export control enforcement with its new Interim Final Rule, announced on 29 September 2025.
The rule aligns the BIS Entity List and Military End User (MEU) List with the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) 50 Percent Rule, marking a shift from name-based to ownership-based sanctions screening, claims Quantifind.
Under this new model, any entity that is 50% or more owned—directly or indirectly—by a listed or sanctioned party will now be subject to the same restrictions. This change significantly expands the scope of compliance risks faced by exporters, multinational corporations, and financial institutions, particularly those operating across complex international supply chains.
Traditional screening systems have long struggled to uncover indirect ownership links or hidden control relationships used by sanctioned entities to disguise their presence. Affiliates, shell companies, and layered ownership structures make these connections difficult to detect. However, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are helping to close this gap. By leveraging AI-powered entity resolution, beneficial ownership mapping, and continuous monitoring, Quantifind provides compliance teams with the visibility they need to uncover hidden affiliations and manage risk before exposure occurs.
According to the BIS, this regulatory shift could impact thousands of subsidiaries across nearly 100 countries—many of which appear unconnected to sanctioned entities on paper. Compliance teams must now be able to identify indirect and aggregate ownership structures, detect co-ownership that crosses the 50% threshold, and monitor ongoing changes across global networks. Doing this manually, especially in jurisdictions with limited data transparency, is virtually impossible.
Quantifind’s AI-driven platform enables organisations to operationalise the BIS 50% Rule by exposing hidden ownership and affiliation risks that structured datasets alone cannot reveal. Its proprietary Name Science™ and Entity Resolution technology link entities across inconsistent datasets, identifying when subsidiaries or affiliates are connected to listed parties. The platform’s beneficial ownership mapping automatically builds ownership trees, aggregates ownership percentages, and flags co-ownership scenarios that may breach OFAC or BIS thresholds.
Beyond structured data, Quantifind uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to mine global adverse media, regulatory filings, and leaked documents—sources that often reveal affiliations overlooked by official registries. These insights feed into an explainable risk scoring system, which assigns ownership-related risk levels and generates automated alerts when entities approach or cross regulatory thresholds.
Continuous monitoring ensures that compliance teams not only identify hidden risks but also stay ahead of evolving ownership structures. This capability supports key compliance workflows, from third-party screening and supplier due diligence to onboarding, KYC, and regulatory audits.
Quantifind frames the BIS 50% Rule not as a compliance burden but as a data challenge—one that can be met with explainable, transparent AI. By fusing structured and unstructured intelligence, the company delivers the most comprehensive view of beneficial ownership available. The result is faster risk detection, reduced blind spots, and a trustworthy framework for regulators and investigators alike.
As enforcement expands, early detection of hidden affiliations will be critical. Quantifind’s platform empowers organisations to protect trade operations, safeguard their reputation, and maintain compliance with confidence in an increasingly complex sanctions landscape.
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