Guides · Screening and compliance

Sanctions, PEP and adverse media screening APIs: what Strale does and where it sits

sanctions-check, pep-check and adverse-media-check are pay-per-call tools over Dilisense's consolidated screening database. Adverse media falls back to a web search when Dilisense cannot answer. They cost €0.05, €0.20 and €0.20 a call, with no subscription or minimum. Strale does not run its own screening database. This page says what you gain and give up compared with other routes.

REST API
cURL

The solution

curl -X POST https://api.strale.io/v1/do \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "capability_slug": "pep-check",
    "inputs": { "name": "Example Person" },
    "max_price_cents": 10
  }'

curl -X POST https://api.strale.io/v1/do \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "capability_slug": "sanctions-check",
    "inputs": { "name": "Spotify AB" },
    "max_price_cents": 30
  }'

curl -X POST https://api.strale.io/v1/do \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "capability_slug": "adverse-media-check",
    "inputs": { "name": "Wirecard AG", "entity_type": "company" },
    "max_price_cents": 30
  }'

What a sanctions answer looks like

The field names are the tool's own. The name is the tool's test input and is expected to return no matches, so this is a real negative case.

Answer

{
  "output": {
    "query": "Spotify AB",
    "schema": "Company",
    "is_sanctioned": false,
    "match_count": 0,
    "total_results": 0,
    "matches": [],
    "lists_queried": { "collection": "dilisense/consolidated-sanctions" },
    "source": "dilisense"
  }
}

What Strale does here

sanctions-check and pep-check call Dilisense's consolidated database. For sanctions that is the US OFAC SDN list, the EU financial sanctions list, the UN Security Council list, the UK sanctions list, Swiss SECO and a large set of national lists; for PEPs it covers politically exposed persons, their relatives and close associates. The tool pages name the sources.

adverse-media-check calls Dilisense's media endpoint first. Only if Dilisense is unavailable does it fall back to a web search with fixed keyword categories and no language model. The answer says which path produced it, in source.

A match means a name appears on a list that was searched. It is a screening signal for a person to review before any decision, not an automatic block or allow.

Ways to get this data

Strale is a thin, pay-per-call layer over the database, and that is the trade. The alternatives are described in general terms because vendors change their prices; check each vendor's own page before you decide.

Route	How you pay	What it suits
Strale tools	Per call, no minimum	You want screening next to the rest of the catalogue: one key, one price list, one record of each call, and x402 for agents with no account.
Dilisense directly	Dilisense's own pricing	The database is the same one Strale calls. If you only need screening, calling it directly can cost less per call, and you handle the integration, billing and record-keeping yourself.
A self-hosted open-data screening service	Your own infrastructure, plus a data licence where one applies	You have the infrastructure to run it and want control over the data, and do not need a managed service.
A subscription screening vendor	A subscription, often priced by monitored entities or volume	You need ongoing monitoring of a list of entities, not one-off checks.

If price per call is the only variable, a direct route can beat Strale's per-call price. Strale is the better fit when you want these checks in the same account and the same record-keeping as the rest of your tools.

Limits

Fuzzy name matching produces false matches on common names. Pass country and, for a person, birth_date where you have them.
Per-list freshness is not returned. Dilisense refreshes its index several times a day, but the answer carries no per-list update time. For a same-day check against a new designation, ask the primary source, such as OFAC or the EU Official Journal.
The adverse media fallback is weaker evidence. When it runs, source says so and fallback_reason gives the reason. Treat those results as a lower standard of evidence for an audit file.
The risk level is a rule of thumb. It comes from hit counts and severe-category counts, and the thresholds are in risk_level_thresholds. It is not a regulatory finding: read top_articles before acting on it.

Questions

Does Strale run its own sanctions or PEP database?

No. The sanctions and PEP tools call Dilisense's consolidated database. Strale's part is a consistent API, one key and balance across the whole catalogue, and a record of each call.

Is Strale the cheapest way to screen?

Not on price per call alone. Calling Dilisense directly, or running an open-data service yourself, can cost less. Strale trades a per-call price for not integrating, billing and logging a separate vendor.

What does a match mean?

The name appeared on a list that was searched. It is a screening signal, not a verdict, and is meant for a person to review before an onboarding or payment decision.

How is adverse media different from sanctions and PEP checks?

Sanctions and PEP checks search curated lists: a name is on one or it is not. Adverse media searches news coverage and groups it into a risk level, closer to "here is what the press said" than to an official designation.

Tools in this guide

Tool	Price per call
Sanctions Check	€0.20
PEP Check	€0.05
Adverse Media Check	€0.20

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