In recent years, revelations of grand corruption and the plunder of state assets have led to greater scrutiny of financial relationships with politically exposed persons (PEPs) - senior government officials, family members and close associates - and potential money laundering risks associated with these customers. Notwithstanding the efforts by many financial institutions and regulatory authorities to prevent corrupt PEPs from entering and using the financial system to launder the proceeds of corruption, there has been an overall failure in the effective implementation of risk-based systems to detect corruption proceeds. Politically Exposed Persons: A Guide to Strengthening Preventive Measures for the Banking Sector is designed to help banks and regulatory authorities address the risks posed by PEPs and prevent corrupt PEPs from abusing domestic and international financial systems to launder the proceeds of corruption. The book provides recommendations and good practices aimed at improving compliance with international standards and increasing supervisory effectiveness.
Implementation of an effective PEP regime is a critical component of the prevention and detection of transfers of proceeds of crime and, therefore, ultimately in the process of recovering these proceeds of corruption. The United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Financial Action Task Force Forty Recommendations on Money Laundering require countries to ensure that financial institutions implement systems to identify and verify PEP customers, enhance due diligence procedures at account opening, and provide ongoing monitoring of transactions. Politically Exposed Persons: A Guide to Strengthening Preventive Measures for the Banking Sector will be an important tool for individuals, governments, financial and private sector companies, and international organizations involved in developing and implementing standards aimed at fighting corruption and money laundering, and trying to recover stolen assets and the proceeds of corruption.