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In Scrutiny of Domestic Politicos, U.K. Looks for Middle Ground
By Irene Madongo
printFour months after the enactment of the EU's latest anti-money laundering directive, British officials are considering how to navigate new standards for political accounts in light of complaints from lawmakers. The directive requires all member-states of the European Union to consider domestic politicians as "politically exposed persons," or PEPs, a term that has been typically reserved for foreign government officials and their associates. Under the EU's anti-money laundering (AML) regime, banks must implement enhanced due diligence controls on PEP accounts. Members of the U.K. House of Lords complained last year that language in the then-unfinished draft of the directive had...
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The Financial Action Task Force is likely to reject a proposal that would soften its standard on compliance controls for the accounts of political figures, according to an official at the intergovernmental group.
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An intergovernmental group said Wednesday that it was considering asking countries to make tax evasion a predicate crime of money laundering and to issue tougher AML standards on political figures.
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