OpenSanctions

OpenSanctions is an integrated data source (a Module) in UserSearch. When you run a search against it, it checks a person or company name against a consolidated set of international sanctions lists, watchlists, and politically exposed person (PEP) records, and returns any matching entries.

Use it when you want to establish whether an individual or organisation appears on a sanctions or watchlist as part of an OSINT search or due-diligence check.

What it returns

For a person or company you look up, OpenSanctions reports matching entries drawn from consolidated sanctions and watchlist datasets. A match typically identifies the listed entity, the source list it comes from, and the reason or programme under which it was listed.

Because OpenSanctions aggregates many official and public lists into a single dataset, one query can surface matches across multiple sanctioning bodies at once.

Draft — data-source behaviour awaiting confirmation

The following specifics about OpenSanctions’ behaviour inside UserSearch are not yet confirmed and should be treated as draft:

• The exact fields returned per match (listed name, aliases, source list, listing programme, and dates) and how they are presented in the results table.
• Which underlying lists are included, dataset coverage, and how current the consolidated index is (freshness).
• How name matching is performed and whether fuzzy or alias matching is applied.

What is solid: UserSearch integrates OpenSanctions, it is a consolidated sanctions/watchlist source for persons and companies, and it appears under the search type listed below.

Where it appears in UserSearch

OpenSanctions powers this search type:

• Corporate — as a sanctions and watchlist Module for screening persons and companies.

Because it takes a person or company name as input, you will typically reach it after choosing the Corporate search type. It can also run as one of the sources inside a OneScan, which fans a single query out across several Modules at once; when it does, the Data Source column in your results attributes each row to OpenSanctions.

How to access it

1. Start a search and choose the Corporate search type.
2. Enter the person or company name you want to screen.
3. Select the OpenSanctions Module (or run a OneScan with it enabled).
4. Review the returned sanctions and watchlist matches in the results table.

Official site

Data source: opensanctions.org

Reliability

Draft — reliability note

OpenSanctions is a consolidated, passive sanctions and watchlist source: it reports list membership rather than probing the target, so results reflect what has already been aggregated from published sanctions and watchlist datasets. A match is a candidate that warrants verification against the original listing, and absence from the index does not prove an entity is unlisted — only that no aggregated list contains a matching entry. Dataset coverage and index freshness for this Module are not yet confirmed and should not be quoted as precise figures.

Verified against UserSearch v2.0.20