Art Sanctions

How the Database Is Maintained

A transparent look at our ingestion pipeline, verification ladder, and data quality controls.

This database exists for investigators, museums, compliance officers, and journalists who need verified information about cultural property linked to sanctioned individuals. Our methodology ensures every record comes from authoritative sources, undergoes multi-level verification, and remains traceable through provenance changes and sanctions updates.Note: This methodology represents our operational framework and development roadmap. Core elements are actively being implemented as we scale the database.

Data Pipeline

Five stages keep the database current and defensible. Each stage creates audit trails that partners can verify.

Step 1

Source Ingestion — Automated Feeds

Automated collectors continuously monitor OFAC, EU, OFSI, UN, and partner datasets. Market feeds and museum exports arrive as structured updates.

Step 2

Entity Resolution — Alias Normalization

Multilingual matching consolidates aliases, transliterations, and corporate structures. Analysts review politically exposed edge cases manually.

Step 3

Provenance Graphing — Ownership Chains

Researchers merge transactions, loans, and seizure notices into chronological ownership chains with confidence scores.

Step 4

Verification Queue — Peer Review

Reviewers evaluate each record in sequence. Any change requires at least two independent confirmations before publication.

Step 5

Continuous Monitoring — Periodic Reviews

Sanctions updates automatically trigger alerts. Quarterly provenance reviews incorporate new scholarship and restitution filings.

Verification Ladder

Level 0 — Community submittedCrowdsourced intelligence awaiting corroboration. Visible in staging but excluded from exports until validated.

Level 1 — Public record matchCorroborated via public filings, open auction catalogs, or authoritative media with consistent identifiers.

Level 2 — Expert reviewVerified by cultural heritage professionals, AML investigators, or museum registrars with primary documentation.

Level 3 — Scholarly authenticationSupported by peer-reviewed research, catalog raisonnés, or forensic analysis recognized by the field.

Quality Standards

Accuracy

Minimum two independent confirmations for factual statements. All assertions reference source IDs.

Completeness

Core fields (object identifiers, ownership dates, sanction programs) must be populated prior to publication.

Timeliness

Sanctions updates flow within 24 hours. Provenance graphs are re-evaluated every 90 days or when new material evidence appears.

Auditability

Every mutation records reviewer, timestamp, and diff — enabling downstream users to replay history.

Glossary of Key Terms

Artefacts (data)

Versioned records and change logs created at each processing stage that partners can audit for quality assurance.

Structured deltas

Standardized data updates showing only changes between versions, rather than complete datasets, for efficient change tracking.

Beneficial owner

The natural person exercising ultimate control over an asset, even when obscured by intermediaries or shell companies.

Cultural property

Artistic, archaeological, or historical objects protected by international conventions and national heritage laws.

Provenance

The documented history of ownership, custody, and location of an object, establishing legal title and authenticity.

Sanctions program

A regulatory regime imposing financial or trade restrictions on designated persons, entities, or sectors.

We publish detailed ingestion and review logs for partners who integrate the data. Reach out if you need access to provenance change feeds or reviewer notes. Contact us at contact@sanctions.art.