Politically Exposed Persons

Regulation 33(5) states that depending on the requirements of the case, the enhanced customer due diligence measures required under Regulation 33(1) may also include, among other things—

(a) seeking additional independent, reliable sources to verify information provided or made available to the relevant person;

(b) taking additional measures to understand better the background, ownership and financial situation of the customer, and other parties to the transaction;

(c) taking further steps to be satisfied that the transaction is consistent with the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship;

(d) increasing the monitoring of the business relationship, including greater scrutiny of transactions.

(i) the business relationship is conducted in unusual circumstances;

(ii) the customer is resident in a geographical area of high risk (see sub-paragraph (c));

(iii) the customer is a legal person or legal arrangement that is a vehicle for holding personal assets;

(iv) the customer is a company that has nominee shareholders or shares in bearer form;

(v) the customer is a business that is cash intensive;

(vi) the corporate structure of the customer is unusual or excessively complex given the nature of the company's business;

(vii) the customer is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy;

(viii) the customer is a third country national who is applying for residence rights in or citizenship of a state in exchange for transfers of capital, purchase of a property, government bonds or investment in corporate entities in that state];

(i) the product involves private banking;

(ii) the product or transaction is one which might favour anonymity;

(iii) the situation involves non-face-to-face business relationships or transactions, without certain safeguards, such as an electronic identification process which meets the conditions set out in regulation 28(19);

(iv) payments will be received from unknown or unassociated third parties;

(v) new products and new business practices are involved, including new delivery mechanisms, and the use of new or developing technologies for both new and pre-existing products;

(vi) the service involves the provision of nominee directors, nominee shareholders or shadow directors, or the formation of companies in a third country;

(vii) there is a transaction related to oil, arms, precious metals, tobacco products, cultural artefacts, ivory or other items related to protected species, or other items of archaeological, historical, cultural or religious significance or of rare scientific value;]

(i) countries identified by credible sources, such as mutual evaluations, detailed assessment reports or published follow-up reports, as not having effective systems to counter money laundering or terrorist financing;

(ii) countries identified by credible sources as having significant levels of corruption or other criminal activity, such as terrorism (within the meaning of section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000), money laundering, and the production and supply of illicit drugs;

(iii) countries subject to sanctions, embargos or similar measures issued by, for example, the European Union or the United Nations;

(iv) countries providing funding or support for terrorism;

(v) countries that have organisations operating within their territory which have been designated—

(aa) by the government of the United Kingdom as proscribed organisations under Schedule 2 to the Terrorism Act 2000 M2, or

(bb) by other countries, international organisations or the European Union as terrorist organisations;

(vi)countries identified by credible sources, such as evaluations, detailed assessment reports or published follow-up reports published by the Financial Action Task Force, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or other international bodies or non-governmental organisations as not implementing requirements to counter money laundering and terrorist financing that are consistent with the recommendations published by the Financial Action Task Force in February 2012 and updated in June 2019.

35.—(1) A relevant person must have in place appropriate risk-management systems and procedures to determine whether a customer or the beneficial owner of a customer is—

(a)a politically exposed person (a “PEP”); or

(b)a family member or a known close associate of a PEP,

and to manage the enhanced risks arising from the relevant person's business relationship or transactions with such a customer.

For the purposes of paragraphs (9), (11) and 12), individuals entrusted with prominent public functions include—

(a) heads of state, heads of government, ministers and deputy or assistant ministers;

(b) members of parliament or of similar legislative bodies;

(c) members of the governing bodies of political parties;

(d) members of supreme courts, of constitutional courts or of any judicial body the decisions of which are not subject to further appeal except in exceptional circumstances;

(e) members of courts of auditors or of the boards of central banks;

(f) ambassadors, charges d'affaires and high-ranking officers in the armed forces;

(g) members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of State-owned enterprises;

(h) directors, deputy directors and members of the board or equivalent function of an international organisation.

Clients are subject to customer due diligence (CDD) as part of standard onboarding and monitoring procedures. However, where a client presents higher risk factors, the relevant person must apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) in addition to the standard CDD.

If you are regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations, you are required to have effective systems and controls in place to identify Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), as well as their family members and close associates.

These systems must be capable of:

• Identifying a client’s PEP status

• Assessing the level of risk they pose

• Applying appropriate risk-based mitigation measures

Ultimately, the responsibility for conducting the risk assessment, applying the correct level of due diligence, and ongoing monitoring rests with you. 

These decisions should be informed by the requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations and any relevant sector-specific guidance.

It is essential that you document your rationale—including how you assessed the risk and determined the due diligence measures applied. Proper documentation provides a clear audit trail and demonstrates compliance.