As set out in the European Commission Directive No. 2005/60 for anti-money laundering purposes, a Politically Exposed Person (PEP) is a natural person who holds or has held important public office within the last year.
This includes all immediate family members (spouse, children and their spouses, cohabiting partners in the last five years, parents) and all persons with whom they have close ties, such as business associates.
The regulations apply to all citizens of the European Union and of the Republic of San Marino.
A person falling into the PEP category may be exposed to financial crimes such as corruption, money laundering or the financing of illegal activities by virtue of their office, whether ongoing or concluded. Financial institutions therefore have a duty to take this situation into account if it exists, by verifying the person's identity, by acquiring information on the purposes of transactions carried out by the person and by continuously monitoring the person's financial relationship.
On Young Platform, we ask you to indicate whether you are a Politically Exposed Person during the signup process. If you state that you are a Politically Exposed Person, we will contact you for detailed information about this. This means it may take a little longer to open your Young Platform account.
The following fall into the PEP category:
- heads of State, heads of government, ministers and deputy or assistant ministers
members of parliaments - members of supreme courts, constitutional courts or 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, chargés d'affaires and high-ranking officers in the armed forces
- members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of State-owned enterprises
The following are considered immediate family members of politically exposed persons:
- the spouse
- any partner considered by national law as equivalent to the spouse
- the children and their spouses or partners
- the parents
The following fall into the ‘persons known to be close associates’ category:
- 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 Politically Exposed Person
- 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 Politically Exposed Person