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RIPE NCC Quarterly Sanctions Transparency Report (Q1 2023)

RIPE-789
Publication date:
01 Feb 2023
State:
Published
Author
  • RIPE NCC
File(s)
PDF (157.8 KB)

Introduction

This quarterly report provides data on how RIPE NCC members, End Users and legacy resource holders are affected by sanctions, while respecting their confidentiality and privacy.

As an organisation based in the Netherlands, the RIPE NCC must comply with EU sanctions. If we believe that a member or other resource holder is subject to EU sanctions that are applicable to our services, we freeze the registration (not the use) of their resources in the RIPE Database. This means that sanctioned entities cannot acquire further resources or transfer existing ones. However, we do not deregister their resources or terminate their Standard Service Agreement (SSA) if they are RIPE NCC members.

Sanctions Data

The tables below show any changes since the previous quarter, as well as the total number of resource holders and resources affected. This includes the date of action and what action was taken. The table also shows our relation to a sanctioned entity – whether they are a RIPE NCC member, End User or legacy resource holder. We also specify the country in which the resource holder is legally registered.

Summary of Changes

Since our last report, two Russian End Users have been confirmed as subject to sanctions, one of which closed a few days later. One Iranian member and one Russian End User have been flagged as non-cooperative*.

*If a member or End User does not cooperate with our checks, we cannot investigate and confirm whether they are subject to sanctions or not. We will therefore treat them similarly to being sanctioned and have therefore decided to include these Members and End Users in this report for transparency. 

Changes Since Last Quarter

Date

Action

Relation

Country

IPv4

IPv6

ASNs

14-Nov-2022

Frozen

End User

RU

256

0

1

14-Nov-2022

Frozen

End User

RU

512

0

1

22-Nov-2022

Terminated and resources deregistered due to closure of entity

End User

RU

256

0

1

13-Jan-2023

Marked as non-cooperative

End User

RU

0

0

2

16-Jan-2023

Marked as non-cooperative

Member

IR

1,024

/29

1

 

Status on 24 January 2023

Date

Action

Relation

Country

IPv4

IPv6

ASNs

1-Apr-2020

Frozen

Member

IR

17,408

/32

1

1-Apr-2020

Frozen

Member

SY

230,400

/29

1

20-Apr-2020

Frozen

Member

RU

7,552

/32

6

20-Apr-2022

Frozen

Member*

RU

4,096

/32

13

13-May-2022

Frozen

End User

RU

0

0

1

26-Jul-2022

Frozen

Member

GE

1,024

/29

1

17-Oct-2022

Frozen

Member

RU

1,024

/29

2

17-Oct-2022

Frozen

Member

RU

6,400

/29

10

14-Nov-2022

Frozen

End User

RU

512

0

1

13-Jan-2023

Marked as non-cooperative

End User

RU

0

0

2

16-Jan-2023

Marked as non-cooperative

Member

IR

1,024

/29

1

Total

 

 

 

269,440

3x /32,
5x /29

39

* Member also holds Internet resources as an End User

 

Blocked Requests

The following requests were not processed by the RIPE NCC, either because of sanctions applicable to the End User, or due to the inability to complete investigations owing to uncooperative behaviour.

Blocked Requests

Date

Request

Reason block

Country

17-Oct-2022

AS number request

The RIPE NCC confirmed that sanctions apply to the new End User.

RU

13-Jan-2023

Membership application request

The RIPE NCC was unable to confirm the applicability of sanctions due to non-cooperation.

RU

 

Cases Under Investigation

Alongside the number of resource holders confirmed to be subject to EU sanctions that are applicable to our services, there is a much larger number of potential matches under investigation. These statistics show the wider impact that sanctions are having on the Internet as well as the work needed to contact potential matches and request supporting documentation.

Most of these cases turn out to be false positives. However, because there is no grace period allowed for sanctions compliance, potential matches must be treated as though they are sanctioned until our staff can confirm otherwise. This means that we will not process any requests for new resources or to transfer existing ones until a potential sanctions case has been cleared.

Since early 2021, updates to the EU sanctions list have resulted in a total of 988 potential cases requiring investigation. Of these 988 alerts, 360 were in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine (115 Members /245 End Users).

Cases Under Investigation: Status of Cases

Date

Total alerts for investigation

Not yet started

Under Investigation

Confirmed FP or not applicable

Confirmed and applicable

20-Apr-2022

766

362

173

227

4

01-Jul-2022

843

309

207

323

4

17-Oct-2022

932

368

184

372

8

02-Jan-2023

988

384

172

423

9

 

Cases Requiring Investigation: Type of Resource Holder

Date

Member

End User

Inter-RIR transfer

Total

20-Apr-2022

343

420

4

766

01-Jul-2022

375

464

4

843

17-Oct-2022

411

517

4

932

02-Jan-2023

443

540

5

988

Notes: we also check against the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctions list, which is maintained by the United States Government. While we are under no obligation to comply with US sanctions, they are a factor for banking institutions in the Netherlands. Apart from making an internal note, no further action is taken if we find a match with the OFAC sanctions list.

Due to concerns on the part of our banks, we are not able to invoice members in Iran and Syria for their fees. We will not close these members for non-payment and we plan to invoice them retroactively for the full amount as soon as this is possible.