What are PEPs?

         PEPs or Politically Exposed Persons means persons appointed to political positions, including members of political parties who have influence over the policies and operations of political parties, including government officials in positions with the authority to use, approve and manage government budgets at the national, central and local levels, and have been designated as high-risk factors, which requires individuals (customers) of financial institutions and non-financial financial and investment service providers to consider setting them as high-risk customers, which will require intensive due diligence on the facts of the customers, with a longer period of review of business relationships and intensive monitoring than general customers.

          For Thai law, the definition and duties regarding dealing with customers with political status or PEPs are stipulated in the Ministerial Regulation on Due Diligence on Customers B.E. 2563, issued under the Anti-Money Laundering Act B.E. 2542 and its amendments. This Ministerial Regulation requires financial institutions and non-financial financial and investment service providers to verify the information of all customers. Whether or not there are risk factors in being a “PEP or Politically Exposed Person”, and in the case where the customer is a PEP, the risk level of such customer must be adjusted to be a “Customer with High Money Laundering Risk” and the approval of accepting the customer, financial movement checks or business relationship monitoring of such customer must be increased more strictly than customers with other risk levels.

• AML Solution offers a “Risk List Check” service for money laundering and financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This service supports compliance with the laws on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Thailand. This service is divided into 2 groups of data:
  
  
• Database service Group 1 ThaiPEPs or “Thai Politically Exposed Persons”, which is a collection of data ranging from high-ranking civil servants in the executive, legislative, and judicial levels, personnel in the central government administration, down to local government personnel, totalling more than 50,000 data.
  
  
• Database service Group 2 ThaiPEPs PLUS or “Thai Politically Exposed Persons” and other risk list data in accordance with the law, including data on persons with political status abroad and international organizations, list of persons whose assets have been seized or frozen in connection with the offense (Order Y.), data on designated persons (financiers of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (certified by the United Nations), Designated Persons (Thai Financial Supporters of Terrorism (certified by the Thai Court and announced by the Anti-Money Laundering Office), High-Risk List of Foreign Transactions (OFAC, UK Sanction lists, Australian Sanctions Consolidated List, European Union Sanctions, World Bank Groups Sanction)