Skill: corporate-intelligence-investigator
Time: ~15 minutes

Goal

Check whether a person or company matches sanctions, PEP, or related open datasets — with careful disambiguation.

Steps

1. Open OpenSanctions.
2. Use search with full name; add birth year or country if available from public sources only.
3. Open each candidate; read program and reason fields.
4. If match is fuzzy, list why it might be false (different middle name, different country).
5. Record dataset version date and URL in your log.
6. If publishing, use language like “appears on list X as of date Y; independent verification pending” when appropriate.

Pitfalls

• PEP is not a crime.
• Sanctions programs differ — read the specific program text for lawyers, not lay interpretation of “blocked.”

Next steps

• Tutorial — ICIJ Offshore Leaks search for offshore leads