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KAOUTAR BENHADINE
KAOUTAR BENHADINE

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Global Sanctions Index

Algolia MCP Server Challenge: Backend Data Optimization

This is a submission for the Algolia MCP Server Challenge

What I Built

My inspiration comes from spending 20 working days implementing OFAC sanctions screening for insurance clients - a problem now solvable in under 2 hours with Algolia MCP Server and Claude Desktop.

My submission is a Global Sanctions Index that consolidates international sanctions data from US OFAC, EU, and UN sources into a unified, AI-optimized index using Algolia MCP Server and Claude Desktop.

Core Innovation:

🔄 Multi-Source Consolidation: Automated processing of OFAC SDN/Non-SDN, EU Financial Sanctions Files, and UN Security Council lists

🧠 AI-Powered Deduplication: Claude Desktop identifies duplicate entities across different international naming conventions and data formats

🎯 Real-Time Optimization: Direct Claude-Algolia integration for dynamic index configuration and performance tuning

Real-World Impact

This addresses genuine compliance pain points that financial institutions face daily:

  • Manual screening delays
  • High false positive rates
  • Inconsistent international data
  • Regulatory compliance gaps

The Claude Desktop + Algolia MCP combination solves these challenges while maintaining sub-100ms performance for real-time transaction processing.

Demo

How I Utilized the Algolia MCP Server

This implementation integrates Claude Desktop directly with Algolia MCP Server for advanced backend data processing. Claude Desktop handles the complex AI analysis while Algolia MCP Server manages search optimization and index performance in real-time coordination.

🤖 NO CODE, JUST PROMPTS!
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- 🔍 Data Harmonization via Claude Desktop

Analyze sanctions data from OFAC CSV and EU XML formats. Normalize entity names, addresses, and identification numbers into unified schema while preserving source attribution.

- 🧠 AI-Powered Entity Resolution

Compare these potential duplicate entities considering transliteration variations (Vladimir/Владимир), cultural naming patterns, and corporate relationships. Provide confidence-scored merge recommendations.

- ⚡ Dynamic Index Optimization

Based on current query patterns and data distribution,
recommend optimal faceting strategy, ranking algorithms, and search synonyms for international sanctions screening.

Key Takeaways

The Core Problem

International sanctions data exists in silos across multiple jurisdictions - US OFAC, EU, and UN each maintain different data structures and standards, updating on independent schedules with varying naming conventions.

This fragmentation creates massive compliance gaps where the same sanctioned entity appears differently across lists, making traditional string matching ineffective for international names and corporate structures.

The Breakthrough

This solution leverages semantic search through Claude Desktop's intelligence combined with Algolia MCP Server's optimization to understand entity relationships, name variations, and transliterations across languages, enabling unified search that accurately identifies entities while avoiding false positives.

This approach solved the core challenge of handling entity deduplication across different languages, legal systems, and naming conventions where traditional methods fail.

Sample queries

Semantic Search :

Show me Russian oligarchs sanctionned after the Ukraine invasion.

invasion summary
oligarch example

Real-time transaction screening :

Screen a wire transfer from "Vladimir Petrov" (Russia) to "Iranian Shipping Co" (Iran) for $250,000. Show comprehensive sanctions checking with detailed compliance recommendations.

transaction summary
reat-time-screening

Entity Resolution Showcase:

Show how "PUTIN, Vladimir Vladimirovich" (OFAC), "Vladimir PUTIN" (EU), and "Владимир Путин" (Cyrillic) are identified as the same entity with 95%+ confidence scoring.

Summary
Confidence Score


Conclusion

The Global Sanctions Index demonstrates how Algolia's MCP Server can orchestrate sophisticated AI workflows for real-world compliance challenges. By combining Claude Desktop's semantic intelligence with Algolia's search performance, the solution delivers both technical excellence and practical business value.

Happy building! 🚀🧠

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