Abstract: An apparatus, computer-readable medium, and computer-implemented method to facilitate scalable compliance and issuer governance of decentralized financial transactions especially for the trade and transfer of tokenized securities. The resulting Compliance Aware Tokens contain the rulesets to restrict transactions and facilitate regulatory reporting and oversight. The embodied process, includes of a novel combination of compliance workflows, attribute verification tools, smart contracts and other ledger controls, provides a decentralized Attribute Based Access Control (ABAC) capability. ABAC patterns are extended to govern global financial transactions without the need for an active intermediary.