PEPs are the natural persons who are residing in EU (Domestic PEPs) or outside of EU (Foreign PEPs) and who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions and immediate family members, or persons known to be close associates, of such persons.
The meaning ‘Politically Exposed Persons’ includes the following natural persons who are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions’ in EU or outside of EU:
- Heads of State, heads of government, ministers and deputy or assistant ministers;
- Members of parliaments;
- Members of the governing bodies of political parties;
- Members of supreme courts, of constitutional courts or of other high-level judicial bodies whose decisions are not subject to further appeal, except in exceptional circumstances;
- Members of courts of auditors or of the boards of central banks;
- Ambassadors, charges des affaires and high-ranking officers in the armed forces;
- Members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of State-owned enterprises;
- Directors, deputy directors and members of the board or equivalent function of an international organization;
- Central Financial Institutions: examples here would be the Court of Auditors and members on the boards of central banks;
- Armed Forces: in this situation a PEP rating would typically only apply to a high-ranking officer;
- International Sports Committees: Members of these committees may be influenced to vote on the location of major sporting events/contracts for building venues, etc., so have recently been included by FATF under their definition of a PEP;
- Anyone who has a close business relationship or joint beneficial ownership of legal entities or legal arrangements with a PEP;
- Anyone who has the sole beneficial ownership of a legal entity which is known to have been set up for the benefit de facto of the PEP;
- Parents and children of PEPs, Spouse or partner, Siblings, Uncles and aunts, even slightly indirect family members (such as in-laws) will be considered as a politically exposed person.
No public function mentioned above shall be understood as covering middle-ranking or more junior officials.
Without prejudice to the application, where a person has ceased to be entrusted with a prominent public function within the above mentioned meaning above for a period of at least one year, the Company shall not be obliged to consider such a person as politically exposed.
None of the categories set out above shall be understood as covering middle ranking or more junior officials.
‘Immediate family members’ include the following:
- The spouse or the person with whom the PEP has been cohabiting for at least one year;
- The children and their spouses or the persons with whom the PEP has been cohabiting for at least one year; and
- The parents.
‘Persons known to be close associates’ include the following:
- Any natural person who is known to have joint Beneficial Ownership of legal entities or legal arrangements, or any other close business relations, with a person described above;
- Any natural person who has sole Beneficial Ownership of a legal entity or legal arrangement which is known to have been set up for the benefit de facto of the person described above.
