Data Sources

Where WhoWiki’s data comes from

WhoWiki builds on primary government and open data sources, not a resold commercial database. This page lists each source, who publishes it, what it covers, how it is licensed, and how current it is.

The principle

Every answer traces back to its source

Each result shows its source list and the date it was drawn. We collect from official sources, match and de-duplicate the records, and update as the lists change. You can always trace an answer back to where it came from.

Sanctions and watchlists

Sanctions and watchlist data

Source Publisher Covers Licence Updated
OFAC SDN & Consolidated US Treasury (OFAC) US sanctions on people, entities, and vessels Public domain As published, often daily
EU Consolidated List European Union EU financial sanctions Free reuse As published
UN Consolidated List UN Security Council UN sanctions Publicly available As published
UK Sanctions List (OFSI) UK Government (OFSI) UK financial sanctions Open Government Licence As published
Business and identifiers

Company and identifier data

Source Publisher Covers Licence Updated
GLEIF GLEIF Legal Entity Identifiers and ownership CC0 (public domain) Daily
EU VIES European Commission EU VAT number validation Official EU service Live query
SEC EDGAR US SEC US public company filings and identifiers Public domain As filed
National company registers Government registries Company registration and officers Varies by country Varies
Reference data

PEP reference data

Source Publisher Covers Licence Updated
Wikidata Wikimedia Reference data for politically exposed persons CC0 (public domain) Continuous
How we use it

From raw lists to a result you can check

We collect each source directly from its publisher. We standardize names, match your query with fuzzy logic to catch spelling and transliteration differences, and remove duplicate records.

Matching is indicative. It surfaces possible hits for you to review, not a legal determination. That is why every result shows its source, so you can confirm it before you act.

On licensing

Why we use open sources

We only build on sources that permit this use: public-domain government data and openly licensed datasets. We do not resell restricted commercial databases. That choice keeps the core tools free to run and lets us show where every result comes from.

Questions

Data questions

Where does WhoWiki get its sanctions data?
Directly from the publishers: OFAC for US sanctions, the European Union for EU sanctions, the UN Security Council for UN sanctions, and the UK OFSI list for UK sanctions. Every result shows which list it came from and the date.
Is the data free to use?
The underlying lists are public or openly licensed. Running single checks on WhoWiki is free. We do not resell a restricted commercial database, which is how the core tools stay free.
How often is the data updated?
We rebuild from primary sources on a rolling basis and check the major sanctions lists daily. Each result carries the date it was drawn.
Does WhoWiki use a commercial sanctions database?
No. We build directly on primary government and open sources. That lets us keep the core tools free and show the provenance of every answer.
Can I see the source of a specific result?
Yes. Every result shows the list it came from and the date, so you can trace it back and check it against the official source.
Related:
Trust Center ›·
Security ›·
Browse the tools ›