Cuba Restricted List (US State Dept): US banks must reject any USD or US-routed transfer where this party is originator or ultimate beneficiary, direct or indirect (31 CFR 515.209 as amended 30/09/2026); not an asset freeze — route or reject accordingly
Cuba Restricted List, maintained by the US State Department under 31 CFR 515.209, identifies 242 Cuban government-linked entities with which direct financial transactions are prohibited for US persons, guiding correspondent banking due diligence and USD payment routing decisions.
US State Department Cuba Restricted List (the State Department's List of Restricted Entities and Subentities Associated With Cuba) names entities and subentities under the control of, or acting for or on behalf of, the Cuban military, intelligence or security services or personnel, with which direct financial transactions would disproportionately benefit those services at the expense of the Cuban people or private enterprise in Cuba: ministries, holding companies, hotels, tourist agencies, marinas, stores and entities directly serving the defense and security sectors.
Restrictions: Persons subject to US jurisdiction may not engage in direct financial transactions with listed parties (31 CFR 515.209). From 30 September 2026 (OFAC final rule FR 2026-19973) the prohibition also covers indirect financial transactions: a US bank that participates in a transfer of funds without being the originator or ultimate beneficiary must reject it when either the originator or the ultimate beneficiary is on this list. The same rule removed the "U-turn" general licence (31 CFR 515.584(d)). Export licence applications involving listed parties are generally denied under the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 746.2).
What a match means: this is a restricted list, not an asset freeze — listed parties are not blocked persons. A match returns REVIEW: a USD or US-routed payment where the party is originator or beneficiary must be rejected; a payment that touches no US person or US bank is not caught by this rule. Route or reject accordingly. A party that is also on the OFAC SDN list keeps its SDN BLOCK.
Source: U.S. Department of State, published in the Federal Register (full republications FR 2025-02282 of 6 February 2025 and FR 2025-13149 of 14 July 2025, which added seven hotels). Refreshed daily from the Federal Register; the newest full republication is the base and any later additions or removals notice is applied.
This is a high-priority sanctions list. Entities on this list are typically subject to full blocking/freezing measures. Persons and entities under applicable jurisdiction are generally prohibited from dealing with listed parties. Assets may be frozen and all transactions are typically blocked.
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Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only. Data is sourced from official government publications and updated regularly. Always verify sanctions information with official sources and consult qualified compliance professionals for business decisions.
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