Inclusion criteria

Adding a data source to OpenSanctions requires us to engage with this data in perpetuity. We want to prioritise data quality over quantity. The following criteria guide our interest in including a new data source in OpenSanctions:

1. Public interest. We want to collect data about entities that are of public interest, either because they bear significant political or economic influence, or are or have been involved in criminal activities. We're particularly interested in:

   • Economic, military and other sanctions targets from any country.
   • Companies or individuals that have been excluded/debarred from procurement.
   • Companies that are subject to exports controls and participate in arms trading.
   • Published data on wanted criminal suspects or convicted criminals. Particular focus on financial crime, money laundering, bribery and other forms of corruption.
   • People who are in senior functions in government or public administration (PEPs)
   • Directors and administrators of state-owned enterprises.
   • Systematic efforts to map out the relatives, close associates and corporate holdings of any of the above.

2. Justification and context. Data sources that reference a legal basis for inclusion for each subject and provide links to associated entities provide additional value.

3. Detailed data. A data source which merely lists John Smith as a person of interest does not provide enough detail to identify that individual. For people, the date of birth, nationality and some form of national identification are ideal. For other entities, the date of incorporation, registration number and jurisdiction are especially important.

4. Legality. We do our best to comply with the intellectual property rights of other database authors. Information published by governments and public institutions, however, is considered fair game.