News

At least three EU countries and the United Kingdom have taken steps over the past month to ensure that financial institutions do not subject lawmakers, high-ranking officials and other politically connected clients to overly robust due diligence. EU anti-money laundering rules require banks, payment institutions and other companies regulated for anti-money laundering purposes to conduct enhanced due diligence on politically exposed persons, also known as PEPs, to mitigate the risk of embezzlement, bribery and other forms of corruption. But pressure from lawmakers in Ireland and supervisory findings in France and the Czech Republic have spurred officials in those countries to...