Weak AKAs appear differently depending on which file format of the sanctions list is being utilized.
In the TXT and PDF versions of the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) or other sanctions lists, weak AKAs are encapsulated in double-quotes within the AKA listing:
ALLANE, Hacene (a.k.a. ABDELHAY, al-Sheikh; a.k.a. AHCENE, Cheib; a.k.a. "ABU AL-FOUTOUH"; a.k.a. "BOULAHIA"; a.k.a. "HASSAN THE OLD"); DOB 17 Jan 1941; POB El Menea, Algeria (individual) [SDGT]
In the DEL, FF, PIP, and CSV file formats, weak AKAs are listed in the Remarks field (found at the end of the record) of the primary name file. In these formats, weak AKAs are bracketed by quotation marks. Please see the data specification documents for more information on the SDN and Consolidated lists.
SDN List Data Specifications: https://ofac.treasury.gov/system/files/126/dat_spec.txt
Consolidated List Data Specifications: https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/consolidated/cons_dat_spec.txt
8219 @"ALLANE, Hacene"@"individual"@"SDGT"@-0- @-0- @-0- @-0- @-0- @-0-@-0- @"DOB 17 Jan 1941; POB El Menea, Algeria; a.k.a. 'ABU AL-FOUTOUH'; a.k.a. 'BOULAHIA'; a.k.a. 'HASSAN THE OLD'."
In the legacy XML version of OFAC's sanctions lists, there is a Type element for each AKA. The Type can either be 'weak' or 'strong' (see the XML SDN and Consolidated List Schemas (XSD files) at: https://ofac.treasury.gov/system/files/126/sdn.xsd and https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/consolidated/consolidated.xsd for more information).
In the advanced XML list standard, alias quality is represented as a Boolean attribute of the alias element. This attribute, "LowQuality" can be flagged as either "true" or "false." If the LowQuality attribute is false then the alias is strong. If the LowQuality attribute is true then the alias is weak.
For more information on the advanced XML standard, please visit OFAC’s SDN data formats page at https://ofac.treasury.gov/specially-designated-nationals-list-data-formats-data-schemas.