Refinitiv’s Global Sanctions Index reports a 270% increase in sanctions since 2017

• Refinitiv’s Global Sanctions Index white paper measures and analyzes rising hyperinflation of autonomously issued sanctions programs. 
• World-Check Risk Intelligence database tracks every explicit sanctions regime since 2017, as well as their increasing volume, complexity and escalating cost of compliance for organizations.
  
• As of August 2022, the database includes 52,000 sanctioned persons and entities.
  

NEW YORK / LONDON / SINGAPORE, 16 November 2022 – Refinitiv, an LSEG business, has released the second edition of its Global Sanctions Index (GSI), further assessing the phenomenon of sanctions hyperinflation, epitomized by a steady, yet rapid increase of 270% in the issuance of explicit sanctions since 2017.  

The updated white paper, Understanding sanctions worldwide with the Global Sanctions Index (GSI), examines data from the Refinitiv World-Check Risk Intelligence database on every major sanctions regime, the net change in the amount of sanctioned persons and entities (52,000+ as of August 2022), and launches sub-indices for specific sanctioning bodies, notably the European Union (EU), Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF), the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), Australia’s autonomous sanctions programs run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the United Nations (UN).

“Our market-leading World-Check Risk Intelligence database has identified startling statistics outlined in the Refinitiv Global Sanctions Index,” said Michael Meadon, director of Customer and Third-Party Risk Solutions – Asia-Pacific and author of the white paper. “This year’s response to the Russia-Ukraine war and the ever-changing geo-political landscape has highlighted the shift to autonomously issued sanctions inflation while the fracturing of the UN’s consensus-driven sanctions mechanism has led its share of the GSI to stay flat at 2% of the global total listed since 2017.”

The latest findings of Refinitiv’s GSI contain notable takeaways, discussed under three broad areas: 

• Now a five-year trend, sanctions inflation worldwide continues apace and is running hot at 14.6% year-on-year (from 11.2% six months ago). 
• The Russia-Ukraine war caused rapid inflation since March in several autonomous sanctions programs, marking a major shift in the volumes of those autonomously issued by national governments or regional bodies. Annual sanctions inflation listed in the white paper stands at 131% for Australia (DFAT-AS), 80.1% for Japan (MOF), 55% post-Brexit for the United Kingdom (UKHMT), and 49.6% for the EU.    
• Once prevalent consensus-based sanctions mechanisms created under the aegis of the UN are an increasingly minor component of the GSI, representing just 2% of overall sanctions.

For more information on Refinitiv’s Global Sanctions Index, please visit this link (Global Sanctions Index | Refinitiv). 

About Refinitiv, an LSEG business

Refinitiv, an LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) business, is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure. With over 40,000 customers and 400,000 end users across 190 countries, Refinitiv is powering participants across the global financial marketplace. We provide information, insights, and technology that enable customers to execute critical investing, trading and risk decisions with confidence. By combining a unique open platform with best-in-class data and expertise, we connect people to choice and opportunity – driving performance, innovation and growth for our customers and partners. www.lseg.com.
For more information, please visit www.refinitiv.com

Contacts

Mark Harrop
London Stock Exchange Group
Senior PR Associate, External Communications
Mobile +1 917 704 0664
mark.harrop@lseg.com  

Simon Henrick 
London Stock Exchange Group
Communications Director
Mobile +44 (0)20 7797 1222 
simon.henrick@lseg.com